Australian Markets Ended Negative as Banking Shares Lead the Way Down

• Australian market closed lower for a sixth straight day as investors booked profits in banking shares. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index lost 41.7 points, or 0.8 pre cent, to 5062.5, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 40.3 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 5069.2.

• Among the sectors, energy slumped 1.5 per cent, materials lost 1.4 per cent and financials shed 0.8 per cent. 

• The six-day losing streak is the longest since July 2012, when the market also fell six consecutive days. If it fell another day tomorrow it would be the longest losing stretch since late June 2010.

• This is how regional markets are doing today:

• Nikkei: -1.6%
• Hang Seng: -0.5%
• Shanghai: -0.1%
• Taiwan: -0.8%
• South Korea: -0.7%
• Singapore: -0.4%
• New Zealand: -0.3%

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