The sharemarket has closed 0.7 per cent lower, with concerns about global economic growth pulling down resources stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 36.2 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5130.0 points.
The broader All Ordinaries index was down 39.8 points, or 0.77 per cent, at 5104.1 points.
OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said the local bourse had been pushed lower by weakness in the commodities sector, which was weighing upon energy, resources, gold and materials stocks.
"It's sounded like a broken record all week, with those concerns playing out," Mr Le Brun said.
He said figures showing a slowdown in factory activity in the United States and China for April had hurt investor sentiment.
"It very much is a sentiment thing, driven by the potential for lower global growth," Mr Le Brun said.
The only stocks in which investors seemed to be interested in the current climate were those that offered good dividends in relation to their purchase price (good yield).
On Wall Street in the US overnight, stocks dropped after the ADP job report showed April job growth fell to the slowest level in seven months.
Markets were also disappointed by an Institute for Supply Management report that showed manufacturing activity slowed sharply in April.
HSBC Corp's purchasing managers index today showed that Chinese manufacturing growth slowed in April as global demand weakened.
On the local market in the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton fell 38c to $31.79 and Rio Tinto fell $1.12 to $53.91.
Among the major banks, ANZ fell 19c to $31.50, National Australia Bank fell 11c to $33.84, Westpac fell 16c to $33.90 and Commonwealth Bank fell 45c to $72.50.
AGL, Australia's second-largest electricity retailer, fell 58c to $15.10 as it predicted that net profit this year will be at the lower end of guidance of $590 million to $640m as a result of competition and soft markets.
Ports and rail operator Asciano fell 14c to $5.23 after it said it would slash spending and cut jobs given falling volumes in some operations.
Flight Centre rose 3c to $38.20 after it upgraded its full-year profit forecast.
The June share price index futures contract was 40 points lower at 5121 points, with 21,851 contracts traded.
The price of gold in Sydney was $US1455.30 per fine ounce, down $US17.55 on yesterday's closing price of $US1472.85.
National turnover was 1.64 billion securities worth $4.15 billion.
