Australian shares have had their largest sell off in a week after the Reserve Bank indicated Tuesday’s interest rate cut would be the last for now.

Investors are also punishing market heavyweights the Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths following disappointing earnings updates, and there was a weak lead from Wall Street as well.

Quay Equities head of trading Tristan K’Nell also cited the release of slightly weaker than expected Australian retail spending growth of 0.3 per cent in March, but said the market had probably overreacted.

The best hope for a comeback in the afternoon was if some China manufacturing figures that are due out are positive and help the mining stocks, he said.

“The yield plays are little bit overdone maybe and people are switching more into growth stocks,” he told AAP.

Commonwealth Bank’s $2.2 billion cash profit for the third quarter was flat, which was disappointing enough to send its shares $3.63, or 4.1 per cent, down to $84.51.

ANZ was down 24 cents to $33.88, National Australia Bank shed 58 cents to $35.59 and Westpac had lost 67 cents to $34.61.

Supermarket giant Woolworths had lost $1.27, or 4.1 per cent, to $28.36.

The company will cut 400 jobs, and sales growth of just 0.7 per cent for the quarter added to the view that it was underperforming and trailing rival Coles’s owners Wesfarmers.

The miners were performing a bit better, with BHP Billiton down eight cents to $32.48, Rio Tinto losing eight cents to $59.40 and Fortescue Metals up eight cents to $2.54.

KEY FACTS

* At 1220 AEST on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 89.4 points, or 1.53 per cent, at 5,737.1.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 83.9 points, or 1.45 per cent, at 5,732.2.

* The June share price index futures contract was 88 points lower at 5,716 with 21,595 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 694 million securities worth $2.5 billion.