The Australian market ended Wednesday's trading session in negative territory, dragged down by banks and mining stocks following weak cues from Wall Street where the major averages ended in negative territory in the previous session. Concerns about the methodology adopted for bank stress tests in Europe dragged financial stocks lower across Europe in the previous session. Mining stocks declined on fears that the re-elected Australian Prime Minister Gillard might revisit policy on mining resource taxes. Weak trading across other markets in the region also impacted market sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index declined 36.00 points, or 0.79%, and closed at 4,537 points, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,578, representing a loss of 34.70 points, or 0.75%.
On the economic front, a statement released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the value of home loan commitments in the country increased 0.7% in July from June. The Bureau further noted that the number of loan commitments for new, owner-occupied dwellings increased a seasonally adjusted 1.7%. Commitments for purchases of new dwellings increased in number by 1.5%. The value of commitments for investment housing declined 2.3%.
Light sweet crude oil futures for October delivery ended at $73.89 a barrel in electronic trading, down $0.20 per barrel from previous close at $74.09 a barrel in New York on Tuesday.
Banks led the decline following weak cues from European and US markets in the previous session. ANZ Bank slipped 1.14%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia shed 1.09%, National Australia Bank lost 1.84% and Westpac Banking was down 1.43%. Investment banker Macquarie Group declined 1.25%.
Mining and metal stocks also ended in negative territory. BHP Billiton shed 1.34%, Rio Tinto slipped 1.22%, Fortescue Metals lost 1.01%, Gindalbie Metals fell 1.08%, Macarthur Coal was down 2.01%, Murchison Metals plunged 2.71%, and Mincor Resources declined 1.39%.
Oil related stocks also ended weaker. Woodside Petroleum declined 1.43%, Santos Ltd slipped 0.58%, Oil Search Ltd shed 0.67% and Origin Energy was down 1.48%.
In the U.S., stocks fell by sharp margins to open the Labor Day-shortened week on Tuesday, as profit taking following last week's gains drove the major averages down off of their best closing levels in three weeks. Nonetheless, the pullback came on low volume, with many traders staying away from their desks following the three-day weekend. The major averages saw some late-day volatility, ending near their session lows. The Dow fell by 107.24 points or 1% to end at 10,341, the Nasdaq declined by 24.86 points or 1.1% to 2,209 and the S&P 500 lost 12.67 points or 1.1% to close at 1,092.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.