The share market has closed lower due to falls by the major banks, energy producers and miners.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 shed 0.34 per cent, with the heaviest losses coming from the big four banks, while the Australian dollar continued its gradual slide, trading at 75.48 US cents at 1700 AEST.
Phillip Capital senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said concerns about the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) putting further capital requirements on the banks were behind the financial sector’s weakness.
While iron ore and other commodity prices performed well, he said there were ongoing longer term growth concerns, particularly for iron ore.
“The banks are down because of APRA’s recent statements and talk about increasing capital requirements,” Mr Heffernan said.
“There is commentary from analysts that the iron ore hike is just about over and there’s a build up of inventory in China and we can’t expect the same sort of growth in China that’s supported steel prices.”
Commonwealth Bank dropped $1.20, or 1.4 per cent, to $84.79, Westpac shed 43 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $34.22, ANZ lost 32 cents, or one per cent, to $31.36 and National Australia Bank declined 31 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $32.60.
Rio Tinto declined $1.04, or 1.7 per cent, to $60.68, Fortescue Metals lost 12 cents, or 1.9 per cent to $6.30 and BHP Billiton was down eight cents to $24.67.
South32 shed one cent to $2.95 after the miner cut its production forecasts for silver, lead and zinc at a WA mine following an underground fire.
Santos was the weakest performer in the energy sector, down six cents to $3.74, while Woodside Petroleum dropped 22 cents to $32.56.
The health care sector, industrials and property developers were the areas of strength on the market.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 dropped 19.9 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 5,856.3 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index dropped 18.6 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 5,897.3 points.
* The June SPI200 futures contract was down 14 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 5,845 points.
* National turnover was 2.4 billion securities traded, worth $5.3 billion.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1700 AEST:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 75.48 US cents, down from 75.79 US cents on Wednesday
* 83.40 Japanese yen, down from 83.87 yen
* 70.68 euro cents, down from 70.98 euro cents
* 60.44 British pence, down from 60.95 pence
* 108.16 New Zealand cents, down from 108.59 NZ cents
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEST was $US1,253.60 per fine ounce, down $US2.14 from $US1,255.74 on Wednesday.
BOND SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEST:
* CGS 5.25 per cent March 2019, 1.668pct, from 1.698pct
* CGS 4.25pct April 2026, 2.520pct, from 2.555pct
Sydney Futures Exchange prices:
* June 2017 10-year bond futures contract at 97.39 (implying a yield of 2.61pct), from 97.36 (2.64pct)
* June 2017 3-year bond futures contract at 98.16 (1.84pct), from 98.12 (1.88pct)
(*Currency closes taken at 1700 AEDT previous local session, bond market closes taken at 1630 AEDT previous local session)