The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed down 68.50 points or 0.79% on Wednesday to finish at 8,561.80, pulling back after reaching a 20-day high earlier in the session. Among the laggards, Newmont Corporation led the declines with a 5.73% fall, followed by Genesis Minerals Limited, down 4.28%. Despite the daily drop, the benchmark index remains up 0.27% over the past five sessions and sits just 0.89% below its 52-week high.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index edged down 5.20 points or 0.16% to close at 3,289.30. However, it has gained 1.80% over the last five trading days and once again we saw some strong news come to the fore for several small cap companies.