Banks drag on market

THE Australian share market was dragged lower by the big four banks after UBS downgraded Westpac in a report that questioned the quality of the lender’s mortgage book.

The ASX200 dropped 10.8 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 5910.8, while the broader All Ordinaries shed 6.4 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 6003 points.

Phillip Capital senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said: “There’s no question that the royal commission is in- creasing investor nervousness.”

Elsewhere, rising oil prices boosted local producers, with Origin Energy up 2.5 per cent at $9.49, Woodside up 1.2 per cent at $32.17 and Oil Search 1 per cent higher at $7.89.

The major miners were all down and shares in building products supplier Boral continued to fall after its weakerthan-expected trading update on Tuesday, shedding 5.2 per cent to $6.52.