Australian stocks: Retailer's rebuff drags market down

MELBOURNE - The Australian sharemarket closed lower yesterday, dragged back by retailer Coles Myer's continued rejection of takeover overtures and marked by other companies responding to takeover speculation.

CMC Markets senior dealer Phil Martin said Coles Myer was the biggest weight upon the index.

He said the market had also been approaching new highs recently, so some investors were taking profits.

At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 27.9 points to 5285.3. Coles Myer lost A$1.30, or 8.97 per cent, to A$13.20.

- AAP