The share market lost steam to close steady as gains by Rio Tinto and some banks were offset by weaker retailers.
Trading volume was relatively light ahead of Britain’s vote on its European Union membership on Thursday, Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee said.
“There are relatively light volumes going through so it does look like a lot of people are on the sidelines ahead of that Brexit vote,” she said.
“Having said that, the remain camp does seem to be getting stronger and that’s a key reason why we are seeing stocks moving the way they are.”
The market’s lacklustre close came after it hitting its high point for the day in mid-afternoon trade, and despite gains on most major international equity markets.
Mining giant Rio Tinto was the best performer among the market’s 20 largest stocks, followed by wealth manager Macquarie Group and ANZ.
Rio Tinto gained 37 cents to $44.58 on market speculation it could spin off its non-core assets like BHP Billiton did with South32, Ms Lee said.
BHP gained two cents to $18.71 and South32 rose 6.5 cents to $1.715.
Macquarie Group added 19 cents to $76.12, while ANZ rose 15 cents to $24.40, CBA and Westpac each fell one cent to $75.07 and $29.67 respectively, and National Australia Bank slipped five cents to $25.62.
Retail heavyweight Wesfarmers, which owns Coles, dropped 26 cents cents to $40.34 and Woolworths shed 19 cents to $21.00, as competition is expected to intensify in the food and liquor space, according to Ms Lee.
KEY FACTS:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 3.5 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 5,270.9 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 3.8 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 5,349.5 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was up two points at 5,217 points, with 25,489 contracts traded.
* The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEST was $US1,264.57 per fine ounce, down $US19.03 from $US1,283.60 on Tuesday.
* National turnover was 2.76 billion securities traded, worth $4.76 billion.
