The local market failed to hold to yesterday’s gains, drawing its cues from an uninspiring night on offshore bourses.

The S&P/ASX 200 index struggled to get back above 4440 points, falling to its lowest level in about six weeks.

At the close, the local index dropped 0.9% or 39.1 points to 4349.2 points and the broader All Ordinaries also slipped 0.9% to 4370.6 points.



The Australian Bureau of Statistics released motor vehicle sales data for October, showing that 95,720 new cars were sold in the month.

According to the ABS, this represented a seasonally adjusted drop of 2.8% from September.

Among the sectors, basic materials recorded a drop of 2.1% while utilities followed after falling 1.4%.

Financials finished the day 0.6% lower as did health care.

With dampened sentiment taking its toll on the market, most miners struggled to gain ground.

BHP Billiton lost 1.8% to $A33.12 and Rio Tinto eased 1.8% to $56.82.

Most gold miners were at a loss, with Newcrest Mining falling 4.5% to $24.31 while Evolution Mining slipped 1.8% to $1.86.

After gaining 3% yesterday, shares in Aquila Resources fell 5.9% to $2.22 and Atlas Iron lost 3.9% to $1.46.

Against the downward tide, Gindalbie Metals managed a 3.4% gain to 30.5c after announcing first magnetite concentrate had been produced from its Karara project.

After reaching an intraday high of $3.99, shares in Fortescue Metals Group declined 1% to $3.96.

On the junior front, Aspire Mining lost 12.5% to 7c on no news while Jupiter Mines shed 10.9% to 9.8c.

The Australian dollar was trading slightly lower at $US1.036.