Aussie shares ended lower today, after a mostly subdued session on international markets overnight.
At home the sectors finished evenly split between winners and losers. IT and healthcare were the best performers while materials and utilities were the laggards.
The big four banks closed mixed on the day; ANZ (-0.6%) and NAB (-1.8%) lost ground, whilst Westpac (+0.1%) finished above water.
CBA advanced 0.9% after reporting a full-year cash profit of $7.11 billion, up 4% from the previous year. The result was mostly in-line with analyst estimates.
The mining majors declined after a mostly weaker night on commodity markets. BHP and Rio Tinto lost 1% and 2.5% respectively.
OZ Minerals plummeted 6.9% after posting a 1H FY12 net profit of $119.5 million, a 4.9% rise on the prior corresponding half.
Elsewhere, Primary Health Care soared 12% after announcing a 2012 NPAT of $116.6 million, a massive 49% increase on the previous corresponding period.
The ASX 200 shed 11 points (-0.3%) to settle at 4281.
Receive Daily FREE Trading Recommendations, click now.
Evening Market Analysis: Negative Close is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog