Better than expected half year results saw big gains for Sims, Dexus and Seek on Tuesday, as banks and oil companies reversed gains made on Monday.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped at the start of the session and spent all day in negative territory, closing 37 points, or 0.5 per cent lower at 7206.9 points.

Head of Investments and Capital Markets at fund manager Van Eck, Russel Chesler, said company results have overall been beating analyst expectations, with 76 per cent of 31 reports so far surprising on the upside.

“Even though the sample of companies that have reported so far is relatively small, we are of the view that we will continue to see more upside surprises,″⁣ he said.

“With rising inflation and expected interest rate increases we have seen a swing away from growth stocks to value stocks and expect this trend to continue.“

He picked consumer staples, discretionary retail, gold miners, and insurers as sectors that were likely to do well.

The biggest company on the ASX, BHP, ended the day down 0.3 per cent despite an early 3.2 per cent rise after announcing a 144 per cent jump in profits and higher dividends. Chief executive Mike Henry called on governments to upskill Australians to avoid labour shortages.

But news that iron ore prices reaching $US150 per tonne was attracting regulatory attention in China weighed on mining stocks, with Fortescue ending the day 5.1 per cent lower, and Rio Tinto down 2.3 per cent.

Volatile oil prices saw Santos decline down 4.5 per cent, Woodside down 2.5 per cent, and Beach Energy falling 10.5, completely erasing Monday’s gains.

Job ad site Seek jumped 6.1 per cent after upgrading guidance on strong ad volumes. And Sims gained 13.7 after profits beat expectations and the company tripled its dividend.

Supply chain logistics company Brambles gained 6.2 per cent after reports it could be the target of a private equity takeover.

The banking sector dragged, with Westpac down 3.4 per cent after an analyst downgrade.