Australian shares finish lower

30 November 2015: Sydney - The Aussie market put in a losing session to start the new trading week, with all the major sectors finishing underwater.

“Strength in the health and information technology sectors wasn't enough to overcome weakness in financials, energy and materials,” said Chris Conway, Head of Research at Australian Stock Report.

He added, “The miners were the hardest hit as the sector dropped 2.4%. BHP Billiton (BHP) slumped 3.3%, whilst Rio Tinto (RIO) shed 0.9% and little brother Fortescue (FMG) dropped 4.4%.

The big four banks were mixed with Westpac (WBC) the only gainer of the lot adding 0.4%. Elsewhere, ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) lost 0.7%, Commonwealth Bank (CBA) 0.9% and National Australia Bank (NAB) 1%.

Among the energy names, Santos (STO) shed 0.5%, Woodside (WPL) dropped 0.5%, and Oil Search (OSH) added 0.6%.

According to Conway, the gold sector also slumped after gold prices crumbled on Friday night, with Evolution Mining (EVN) the biggest loser, plunging 11%.

At the other end of the spectrum, Slater and Gordon (SGH) was among the biggest gainers, surging a whopping 34% after reaffirming profit guidance. Metcash (MTS) also had a good day, adding 12% after reporting 1H earnings that weren't as bad as expected and also recommitting to its targets. On the day, the ASX 200 shed 36 points (-0.7%) to settle at 5167.

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