Profit-taking in the big banks on Wednesday drove the sharemarket lower, erasing earlier gains that were spurred by a rally on Wall Street.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.1 per cent, or by 10.7 points, to 8396.9 at the close after hitting its highest intraday level since February 19. Five of the 11 sectors were trading in the red, with financials leading the losses. The All Ordinaries was off 0.1 per cent.

Banks shed earlier gains, with index heavyweight Commonwealth Bank off 0.9 per cent to $173.79 and Macquarie Bank flat at $209.99, paring its early 1 per cent advance.

The ASX 200 earlier extended its three-month high, buoyed by strong gains in the US, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq up more than 2 per cent.

‘Holding back’

Stocks rallied from a surprise jump in US consumer confidence and some de-escalation in the US trade war with the European Union. With Wall Street closed for a public holiday at the start of the week, it was the first session since US President Donald Trump agreed to delay the EU tariff deadline to July 9.

Nvidia’s advance also bolstered the US sharemarket, rising 3.2 per cent ahead of its earnings report on Thursday AEST.

Ten Cap chief investment officer Jason Todd said valuation concerns and ongoing uncertainty in the global outlook were holding back the ASX 200 from more meaningful gains. The gauge is within 2 per cent of its February 14 high.

“Equities have rallied much faster and certainly further than even we had anticipated back in April, but that’s all hindsight now,” he said. “The more pertinent question is: where do we go from here, and as investors, what should we do?”

Still, ASX technology shares tracked their US counterparts, buoyed by NextDC and TechnologyOne. The shares were up 2.5 per cent to $13.29 and 2.4 per cent to $40.06, respectively. Block rose 4.9 per cent to $96.19.

Oil shares were buoyed by Woodside’s 3.2 per cent advance to $22.12 after the Albanese government extended the life of its North West Shelf gas development. Fellow oil and gas explorer Santos rose 1.9 per cent to $6.55.

Coal miners also posted strong gains, with Whitehaven rising 2.7 per cent to $5.68 and Yancoal up 1.5 per cent to $5.32.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, Fisher & Paykel fell 4.8 per cent to $32.49 as investors shrugged off the company’s 43 per cent rise in full-year net profit. RBC Capital Markets had warned that the company’s strong share price could spur some selling before the market open.

Mineral Resources dropped 5.5 per cent to $22.45 after once again cutting its full-year guidance for iron ore production, with the latest reduction by as much as 10 per cent.

Web Travel Group jumped 12.4 per cent to $5.26 after reporting a surge in bookings and total transaction values as the company told investors it had “recalibrated and [was] back on track”.

And ALS Limited retreated 7.6 per cent to $16.30 after it placed 21 million new shares with institutional investors, raising $350 million.