ASX slips, banks gain but miners slump

The Australian sharemarket edged lower minutes after the open on Wednesday as strong gains in banks were offset by a selloff in miners, including gold despite the metal scaling a fresh high.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index eased 4.5 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8799 as of 10.17am AEST , with six out of 11 sectors in the red.
Lithium miners led losses with Pilbara Minerals down 15 per cent, Liontown shedding nearly 14 per cent and IGO 11.4 per cent lower. The big mining groups Rio Tinto fell 1.7 per cent and BHP lost 1.4 per cent despite iron ore prices topping US$107 per tonne, the highest level since February.
Such was the mood for commodities that even gold miners defied a fresh record high in the metal. Perseus Mining fell 2.1 per cent and Northern Star dropped 2 per cent.
Banks started strong with ANZ and Westpac both up 1.1 per cent.
Adairs, Brambles, Hearts and Minds, IDP Education, Medibank, Perpetual Equity and Regis Resources are trading ex-dividend on Wednesday.
Stocks on the move
National Australia Bank rose 1 per cent after announcing it was cutting more than 400 jobs and moving other roles to India and Vietnam.
Vulcan Energy slumped 2.2 per cent as it inked a permit to build and operate its Central Lithium Plant (CLP) for the production of battery-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate in Frankfurt, Germany.
Mining company Iluka tumbled 9 per cent on news it would halt production at its Cataby mine in WA from December 1 due to subdued demand for mineral sands.

Sumber : AFR