Aust stocks close slightly lower

The Australian stock market has closed slightly lower amid window dressing on the last trading day of the month, while agribusiness GrainCorp plummeted after treasurer Joe Hockey blocked a takeover proposal from American giant Archer Daniels Midland.

At the 1615 AEDT official market close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 0.27 per cent to  5,320 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 0.23 per cent to 5,314.3.

IG analyst Chris Weston said the market closed 1.9 per cent lower over the month after dividend payouts from major banks, adding that the ASX200 has fallen in November for each of the last five years.

Over the months of November during the last 10 years, the market has fallen by an average of 0.7 per cent, making it the second-worst performing month after May, Mr Weston said.

Historically December was a better month to hold onto stocks, with big performances and thinner liquidity, he said.

IG analyst Stan Shamu noted the big miners were firmer today, although the banks weighed on the bourse.

"There is clearly some month–end rebalancing taking place and this is resulting in some disjointed moves," Mr Shamu said.

"A sharp drop in GrainCorp after the ADM bid was blocked by the government is also contributing to the negative tone."

The Reserve Bank of Australia also released financial aggregates data for October, showing a lift of 0.3 per cent in the month.