Banks surge but ASX dips down

THE Australian share market was unable to extend its rally into a third day, fading in the late afternoon yesterday to close marginally lower despite a strong day for the banking sector.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index finished down five points, or 0.09 per cent, at 5775 points, while the All Ordinaries index was also down five points, or 0.08 per cent, at 5884.9.

In morning trade, bank stocks went gangbusters, with gains of almost 9.0 per cent pushing the ASX into positive territory. The ASX200 was almost 1.0 per cent down early but had edged up by 2.7 points by noon.

ANZ enjoyed the biggest climb yesterday, higher by 8.60 per cent to $17.94. Westpac was next, better by 8.04 per cent to $17.61, NAB rose by 7.81 per cent to $17.94, while Commonwealth Bank went up 4.88 per cent to $64.30.

There were glum results for miners. BHP fell 2.93 per cent to $34.46, Rio slipped 2.43 per cent to $91.52, Fortescue slumped 5.08 per cent to $13.08 and Argosy Minerals declined 2.70 per cent to 7.2 cents.

The Australian dollar was buying 66.45 US cents, up from 65.91 US cents at the close of trade on Tuesday.