ASX drops into the red; CBA sheds 3% in big bank selloff
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The news: Australian shares swung into negative territory in afternoon trade, as big banks saw heavy declines, offsetting a surge in mining stocks.
The numbers: The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 2.7 points, or 0.03%, to 8,665 at 2pm AEST. Six of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Financials was the worst performing sector, dropping 1.9% as the major lenders Commonwealth Bank (-3%), NAB (-2.8%), Westpac (-1.9%) and ANZ (-1.3%) sunk.
The materials and healthcare sectors led gains, both up around 2.1%. Iron ore miners Rio Tinto (+3%), Fortescue (+2.2%) and BHP (+2.1%) all advanced, as did gold stocks West African Resources (+9%), Ramelius Resources (+7.5%) and Spartan Resources (+6.4%).
Biotech giant CSL (+3%) and medical imaging company Pro Medicus (+1.9%) boosted the healthcare segment.
Meanwhile, wealth platform Insignia Financial held most of its early gains, up 11.3% after agreeing to a $3.3 billion takeover by US private equity group CC Capital.
