Steep declines by the big four banks, led by the Commonwealth Bank, have pushed the share market deep into the red.
Ongoing falls in commodity prices continue to weigh on the energy players and mining stocks.
However, the financial sector’s fall as the Commonwealth Bank trades ex-dividend was the biggest drag, CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian said.
“We are at our weakest levels since the 20th of January, and August is one of the worst months we have had since May 2012,” he said.
“The financial sector is holding things back the most, largely because of CBA which was expected to lose ground given its recent capital raising, but it is also trading ex-dividend today.”
He said the Reserve Bank’s minutes of its August monetary policy meeting contained no surprises and had little effect on the stock market.
The Commonwealth Bank was down $4.36, or 5.36 per cent at $76.91.
ANZ was 55 cents lower at $28.97 after it lifted its cash profit four per cent to $5.4 billion for the first nine months of its fiscal year but was hit with higher bad debt charges.
National Australia Bank fell 50 cents to $31.76, and Westpac shed 28 cents to $31.66.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was minus 22 cents at $24.98, Rio Tinto had declined 30 cents to $50.59, while Fortescue Metals gained 14.5 cents to $1.985.
Energy stock Woodside Petroleum had fallen 54 cents to $32.05, while Santos lost 14 cents to $5.84.
Insurer QBE rose five cents to $14.02 after lifting its first half profit 24 per cent and increasing its dividend to shareholders.
Australia’s largest rail and freight operator Asciano was in a trading halt after it agreed to a $12 billion takeover by Canada’s Brookfield Infrastructure Group.
Electronics retailer Dick Smith plunged 33 cents, or 16.5 per cent, to $1.67 after it reported disappointing same store sales growth.
KEY FACTS
* At 1615 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 64.6 points, or 1.2 per cent, at 5,303.1 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 59.2 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 5,309.4 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was 52 points lower at 5,250, with 38,270 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.62 billion securities worth $5.44 billion.
