The Australian share market broke a four day winning streak today, despite an afternoon buying frenzy which briefly the main indices in the black. A weak lead from Wall Street saw local investors pull back, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closing down 5.9pts or 0.1pct to 4536.2.

The miners were the best performers, with the materials sector rising 0.3pct thanks to firmer metals trade in London. Index leader BHP Billiton (BHP) added 0.7pct to $40.46 while Rio Tinto (RIO) was up 0.7pct to $71.50. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) added 0.5pct to $4.34. Gold producers remained under pressure despite a firmer oil price, with Newcrest Mining (NCM) lower by 0.2pct to $32.72.

The energy sector fell 0.8pct on a weaker oil price. The Nymex contract finished lower for a second day in a row, down 0.5pct to US$76.99 a barrel in New York trade. Shares in Oilsearch (OSH) fell 1.5pct to $5.88 while Santos (STO) was down 1.7pct to $13.57 and Woodside Petroleum (WPL) was off 1pct to $41.72.

The financial sector ended down 0.2pct despite some good buying in Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Westpac (WBC) shares. CBA added 0.8pct to $53.01 while Westpac (WBC) was firmer by 0.4pct to $24.25.

Telstra (TLS) shares ended down 0.3pct to $3.23.

Subscription TV provider Austar (AUN) fell 3pct to $0.985 after reporting a 42pct drop in 1H profit due to disappointing subscriber numbers.

The Australian dollar gained some ground this afternoon and at 4.30pm AEST was worth US89.83c, £0.5752 and €68.92c.

On the market overall, a total of 1.88 billion shares were traded, worth $4.88 billion. 477 were up, 500 were down and 374 were unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Share Price Index (SPI) futures contract was at 4494, down 14pts.

Ahead tonight, weekly jobless claims data is released in the US. Before the bell - Colgate Palmolive will release earnings, while Expedia is among the companies reporting after the bell.