THE sharemarket recorded its first two-day fall for the past two weeks yesterday as offshore sellers continued to pound the resources sector and share index futures on the back of weakening commodity prices and recent profit warnings in the mining-services sector.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.5 per cent at 5165.7, having fallen from an intraday high of 5211.6 to a six-day low of 5156.8.
Healthcare, materials, consumer staples, information technology, industrials, utilities and financial sectors underperformed, while consumer staples, telcos and property trusts rose.
A surging US equity market saw the S&P/ASX 200 hit a five-year high of 5249.6 on Wednesday, but it subsequently dived as offshore investors reacted to commodity price falls and profit warnings from mining-services companies UGL and Sedgman.
Offshore selling continued yesterday with ASX SPI Futures volume remaining high at 28,179 lots, compared with 32,819 lots the previous day.