SYDNEY, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Australian share market sank on Wednesday as the banks weighed heavily throughout the day with a 1.13 percent slump.
At 10:30 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 22.50 points or 0.42 percent at 5,384.60, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 13.30 points or 0.24 percent at 5,464.80.
It is the first time the market has finished lower this week, with weight from the banks enough to offset scattered gains.
The most improved sector was information technology, which finished 1.57 percent higher, largely on the back of a 4.24 percent rally by financial tech company Afterpay.
Afterpay continued to outperform following news that the buy-now-pay-later company had sold a five percent stake to Chinese giant Tencent, with eyes for an apparent Asian expansion.
Meanwhile, the country's largest health firm, CSL, revealed that it would be pursuing a treatment for those who become seriously ill with COVID-19, pushing shares in the 139 billion Australian dollar (89 billion U.S. dollar) company 0.35 percent higher.
In the financial space, Australia's big banks sank with the Commonwealth Bank down (0.82 percent), Westpac Bank down (1.48 percent), the National Australia Bank down (2.35 percent) and ANZ down (1.52 percent).
Mining stocks were mixed with Rio Tinto down (0.92 percent), BHP down (0.91 percent), Fortescue Metals up (2.09 percent) and goldminer Newcrest up (3.17 percent).
The country's oil and gas producers also varied with Oil Search down (0.34 percent), Santos up (0.41 percent) and Woodside Petroleum up (0.27 percent).
Australia's largest supermarkets dropped with Coles down (0.97 percent), and Woolworths down (0.54 percent).
Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra sank (0.97 percent), the national carrier Qantas dropped (3.32 percent) and biomedical firm CSL bounced (0.35 percent). Enditem
