The Australian share market is trading around one per cent lower, with investors taking profits after Tuesday’s surge.

The big banks led Tuesday’s two per cent rise, particularly after the Reserve Bank cut the official interest rate to a fresh low of 1.75 per cent.

But they were all lower on Wednesday as investors cashed in their gains.

However, it was the global miners, BHP Billiton, down more than seven per cent, and Rio Tinto, off by 4.5 per cent, that weighed heaviest on the broader bourse.

BHP Billiton shares fell on news it could face a near 20-fold increase in compensation over last year’s deadly Samarco mine disaster in Brazil.

The situation wasn’t helped by data from China showing manufacturing fell in April, despite government stimulus measures.

KEY FACTS:

* At 1200 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 57.3 points, or 1.07 per cent, at 5,296.5 points.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 53.4 points, or 0.98 per cent, at 5,361.6 points.

* The June share price index futures contract was down 80 points at 5,275 points, with 23,210 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 1.18 billion securities traded, worth $2.32 billion.