The Australian sharemarket finished marginally lower in Wednesday’s shortened New Year’s Eve session, the final full trading day of the year, as gains in mining and energy stocks were largely offset by weakness across the broader market.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 2.8 points to 8,714.3, with six of the 11 sectors ending the session in negative territory amid light holiday volumes.
Overnight, United States markets were also little changed, providing limited direction for local investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 0.2%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite also fell 0.1% in subdued year-end trading.
The session also marked Warren Buffett’s final day as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway.
On the local market, the materials and energy sectors provided the main support.
BHP Group lifted 0.9%, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group slipped 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
Champion Iron slipped 0.8% despite confirming that operations are expected to resume within seven to ten days following a derailment on railway tracks in Quebec last week.
Gold miners traded higher after spot gold prices stabilised overnight.
Northern Star Resources added 1.7%, Evolution Mining lifted 1% and Newmont finished 0.7% higher.
Silver prices dropped 5.5% on Wednesday amid volatile trade. Andean Silver lost 3.2% and Sun Silver ended 2.3% lower.
Financial stocks weighed on the index, with the major banks all closing in the red. Commonwealth Bank slipped 0.5%, Westpac lost 1.1%, National Australia Bank dipped 0.1% and ANZ fell 0.3%.
On the bond markets, Australian government yields edged higher. The 10-year yield rose 0.1% to 4.76%, while the 2-year yield increased 0.2% to 4.064%, reflecting cautious positioning ahead of the New Year.
