The S&P/ASX 200 fell as low as 4658 points by 10am in Sydney before scrambling back to close 0.6% lower than yesterday at 4695.

Afternoon momentum was almost exclusively driven by the financials sector, while basic materials tanked a further 2.6%.

Miners correspondingly pitched heavily into the red with BHP Billiton down 2.6% to $A32.12 and Rio Tinto down 2.4% to $51.57.

Market movers during the session were influenced by continually wavering metals prices and accumulating reports reflecting scepticism about a near-term rebound.

In a resources market report released today ANZ Commodity Strategy said there was little chance of negative sentiment changing this month as investors continued to focus on a weak run of Chinese economic data.

“While a number of commodity markets are trading at ’fair value’ on fundamentals, too many broader trends remain at play to spark a recovery,” the report said.

“Conflicting data on the state of the Chinese economy has left investors taking the approach of a ‘healthy sceptic’ when it comes to China’s outlook.

“Sentiment towards commodities is also weak from investors recently reducing the risk of a destabilising rise in inflation.”

Trading also coincided with a surprising boost in Australian employment in May.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 1100 more people in the workforce over the course of the month, lowering the unemployment rate from 5.6% to 5.5%.

Gold companies were mostly down, with Newcrest Mining losing another 4.4% to close at $11.41 and Evolution Mining down 4.8% to 78c.

Alacer Gold, however, stood out with a 7.6% gain to $2.55 after announcing plans to sell its high-cost Australian operations.

Copper investors were hesitant as Cudeco dipped 4.3% to $3.12 and OZ Minerals lost 1.2% to $4.03.