Day traders' after-market lounge May 14

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

The share market declined for the first time in three sessions as risk aversion set in ahead of tonight's Federal Budget and tomorrow's US inflation data.

The ASX 200 dropped 23 points or 0.3%. Nine of eleven sectors declined. The sharpest falls were in REITs and industrials.

The consumer discretionary sector firmed 0.73% and healthcare gained 0.21%. BHP shed 0.23% after Anglo American knocked back a revised takeover offer from the Australian mining heavyweight.

Wall Street offered little direction following another mixed night for the major benchmarks as economic data continued to point to growing pessimism among American consumers. The Dow's eight-session win streak ended with a loss of 0.21%.