The Australian sharemarket has finished weaker because of disappointing company results and continued commodity price weakness.
Despite a positive start, the local bourse lost ground on Wednesday, with Commonwealth Bank shares falling despite it announcing a recorded half-year profit.
“The key driver is the response to the reporting season,” CMC Markets analyst Ric Spooner said.
“We’ve seen profit taking at CBA despite a solid result and that’s reflecting how the market had been pricing the stock.”
He said the other main feature of trade on Wednesday was weakness among the big miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, following overnight falls in commodity prices.
Commonwealth Bank’s stocks had fallen 73 cents to $91.86 despite the bank reporting a first half cash profit rise of eight per cent to $4.62 billion.
The other big banks fared better, with Westpac up two cents to $36.83, ANZ had gained 19 cents to $35.09 and National Bank was three cents higher at $37.06.
Tumbling crude oil prices overnight hurt the energy and mining sectors.
Mining giant BHP Billiton dropped 42 cents to $30.97, Rio Tinto fell 90 cents to $59.80 and Fortescue Metals was four cents lower at $2.45.
Oz Minerals fell 7.3 per cent to $3.78 despite returning to profit.
Energy company Santos was down 26 cents, or 3.3 per cent, to $7.71, Woodside was $1.04 lower at $34.16 and Oil Search had dropped 21 cents to $8.01.
Pharmaceuticals giant CSL and finance group Suncorp both wound back their full year guidance on Wednesday after softer than expected first half results.
CSL fell $7.05 cents, or 7.8 per cent, to $82.95 and Suncorp was down 42 cents, or 2.9 per cent, to $14.00.
Telstra was up two cents at $6.49 ahead of its half-year results on Thursday.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 31.5 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 5,769.1.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 25.7 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 5,731.7, according to preliminary figures.
* The March share price index futures contract was 34 points lower at 5,719, with 30,193 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.5 billion securities worth $4.6 billion.