Aussie shares finished slightly behind today, after a poor night on US and European markets overnight.

A majority of sectors closed in positive territory; however losses in materials and energy capped overall market gains.

The major banks were mostly stronger; with ANZ (+0.1%), NAB (+0.7%) and Westpac (+1.4%) all advancing. CBA was the only exception, losing 0.3%.

Insurer QBE closed up 3.4% after revealing its gross written premiums are expected to rise by more than 7% in 2012 to $4.6 billion.

The big miners were a drag on the market amid weaker commodity prices; BHP dropped 1.3%, whilst rival Rio Tinto let go of 0.6%.

The ASX 200 shed three points (-0.1%) to close at 4334.

Receive Daily FREE Trading Recommendations, click now.

Evening Market Commentary: Afternoon Bounce is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog