The Australian stock market is lower as falls in the banking sector offset a better day for mining stocks.

Wall Street finished little changed overnight as concerns about the upcoming referendum on Scottish independence and weak global inflation dampened market sentiment.

CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian said the local market was in the red for the fourth session this week and has lost around 1.2 per cent since Monday.

“If nothing changes this afternoon it’s going to be the worst week in about a month,” he said.

He said miners were generally higher despite a further slide in commodity prices.

“Today we are seeing weakness in almost all sectors, with the exception of the miners,” he said.

“There’s an element of having been oversold there, given how much miners have fallen in the past month.”

BHP Billiton was 22 cents higher at $35.72, while Rio Tinto rose 10 cents to $61.66 and Fortescue Metals gained four cents to $3.91.

But the big four banks were weaker, weighed down by concerns about the possibility of a yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum.

National Australia Bank fell 17 cents to $34.25, Westpac lost 24 cents to $34.38, while ANZ was down 24 cents at $32.90 and Commonwealth Bank fell 55 cents to $80.09.

Telstra shares were three cents lower at $5.56.

The iron ore price fell again overnight, down 30 US cents to $US81.90 a tonne, but resources stocks managed to bounce from their recent falls.

Department store Myer lost another 13 cents, or more than six per cent, to $2.02, after falling 13 per cent on Thursday in the wake of a 23 per cent profit slide.

KEY FACTS

* At 1220 AEST on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 18.3 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 5,527.8 points.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 17.6 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 5,529.3 points.

* The September share price index futures contract was 19 points lower at 5,528 points, with 23,272 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 1.05 million securities worth $1.9 billion.