The ASX has closed 0.7% lower for the day to finish at 7,608 points.

Eight out of the 11 sectors finished lower, with consumer staples dropping the most — it fell 4.4% thanks to Woolworths.

Other sectors in the red were materials (-1.6%), telecommunications (-1.2%), financial (-0.8%), energy (-0.5%) and industrials (-0.4%).

As for the three sectors that finished in the green, information technology gained 2% off the back of WiseTech Global's boost, followed by utilities (+1.1%) and health care (+0.5%).

CSR surged late in the trading day to be the top performer before being paused, after Bloomberg reported that the local building materials producer could be taken over by its French rival, Saint Gobain.

As for the top performers this Wednesday:

• CSR  +17.2%
• Strike Energy +11.6%
• WiseTech Global +11.1%
• Sayona Mining +8.5%
• Iluka Resources +5.8%

And the bottom five stocks:

• Corporate Travel Management -20.2%
• Woolworths -6.6%
• Boss Energy -6.3%
• Centuria Capital -6%
• Healius -5.7%

That's where we'll leave the blog for today, but we'll be back to do it all again tomorrow for more half-yearly company reports.

On the agenda? Qantas, Medibank and Fortescue, to name a few.

Until then you can catch up on today's developments below, or download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts for the latest news.