The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed 26.8 points lower at 4884.2, while the All Ordinaries shed 27.2 points to 4972.4.

The major miners led the declines today after a lacklustre session on the London Metal Exchange overnight.

BHP Billiton shed 57c to $48.01, while Rio Tinto finished 59c lower at $85.12. Australia’s third largest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group bucked the trend to close 4c higher at $6.57.

Leighton Holdings resumed trading today following the news of its $757 million raising to strengthen its balance sheet and massive downgrade in its 2010-11 earnings forecast.

The construction giant took the biggest hit for the day, closing at $24.86, down $4.08 or 14%, after earlier hitting a low of $24.

OZ Minerals closed the day 6c lower at $1.53 after announcing a 19% dip in copper production for the March quarter to 25,708 tonnes thanks to a fall in ore grades.

Embattled Energy Resources of Australia lost further ground in today’s trade after yesterday flagging a 2011 first-half loss of between $30 million and $50 million after extending the shutdown of its processing plant operations at the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory.

ERA today closed 32c lower at $6.56.

In other mining news, Galaxy Resources announced a $120 million capital raising via an equity placement.

Funds raised from the placement will be used for working capital and the ramp-up of Mt Cattlin and the Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant, potential acquisitions and debt repayment.

Despite the announcement, Galaxy finished today’s session 9c lower at $1.28.

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part trading lower in today’s trading in Singapore.

Copper for three-month delivery was down 0.26% to $US9485 per tonne, nickel shed 0.21% to $26,200/t while zinc gained 0.45% to $2432/t.

“Higher prices hinge on China’s demand, which is unclear at the moment,”Bloomberg quoted First Futures analyst Yang Zhenqiang as saying.

Spot gold was trading $5.80 higher at $1463 an ounce after speculation inflation pressures could continue to build, driving gold’s demand as a safe-haven investment.