Thanks afternoon crew.
End-of-day summary:
Disappointing trading updates from heavyweights Commonwealth Bank and AGL Energy helped drag the Australian share market off record levels despite fresh highs on Wall Street.
The ASX 200 declined 54 points or 0.6% to its first loss in three sessions. The Australian stock benchmark closed at a record yesterday afternoon after the Reserve Bank cut its benchmark rate.
Commonwealth Bank sank 5.41% as a record $10.25 billion full-year cash profit proved insufficient to convince a sceptical market the bank was worth the elevated PE ratio it enjoys over its peers. AGL Energy dived 13.11% after reporting a $98 million loss for the year and downgrading future profit expectations.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posted record closes overnight after mixed inflation data did nothing to alter expectations that the Federal Reserve will reduced its benchmark rate next month. The S&P 500 firmed 1.13%.
