Australian shares have closed lower for a second straight day as investors sold banking stocks due to worries about US stocks being overpriced.
“There seems to be profit taking of banks and defensive stocks,” CMC Markets analyst Ric Spooner said.
“The big resources stocks aren’t taking up the slack as commodity prices weakened.”
Comments from billionaire investor Carl Icahn suggesting Wall Street is set for a big drop dampened investors’ mood, after China’s new reform plans had boosted sentiment.
Among the banks, Westpac dropped 33 cents to $32.54, ANZ lost 18 cents to $31.92, Commonwealth Bank was down 14 cents to $77.20 and National Australia Bank gave up 29 cents to $34.07.
The big miners were weaker, with BHP Billiton down five cents to $37.90, Rio Tinto down 49 cents to $65.16 and Fortescue Metals one cent weaker at $5.88.
Retailer Woolworths dropped 24 cents to $33.86 while Wesfarmers fell 26 cents to $43.75.
The healthcare sector was the best performer, with CSL up 75 cents at $68.35, Sonic Healthcare up 43 cents at $16.68 and Cochlear 39 cents higher at $59.25.
Property group GPT was six cents weaker at $3.62 after making a $3 billion bid for Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA), trumping an earlier offer from Dexus Property Group and a Canadian pension fund.
CPA was up six cents at $1.26, while Dexus dropped two cents to $1.07.
Agribusiness Ruralco gained 10 cents to $3.31 after it said good rains had it well placed to boost underlying profit in the year ahead.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 31.8 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 5,352.9.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 30.1 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 5,347.8.
* The December share price index futures contract was 30 points lower at 5,368 with 24,223 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.8 billion securities worth $4.1 billion.
