At 10.15am (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 21.6 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 3758.9, while the broader All Ordinaries had fallen 19.8 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 3724.9.
Macquarie Group reported a 52 per cent fall in annual profit after booking $2.5 billion in writedowns on assets because of the global financial crisis.
Net profit for the 12 months to March 31 was $871 million, compared with $1.8 billion a year earlier, in line with Macquarie's guidance.
Macquarie shares are in a trading halt at $33.48 ahead of a capital raising.
The major banks were all lower.
ANZ lost 6 cents to $15.84, NAB was down 7 cents at $20.56, Westpac shed 17 cents to $19.03 and Commonwealth Bank was 14 cents lower at $34.97.
The resources sector was also in the red.
BHP Billiton was down 33 cents at $32.94 and rival Rio Tinto lost $1.18 to $63.25.
Wall Street closed mixed overnight after a choppy session.
News from Chrysler that it would seek bankruptcy protection sent stocks down after a positive opening.
The Dow Jones closed down 17.61 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 8168.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index fell 0.83 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 872.81 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 5.36 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 1717.30.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the June share price index contract was trading 12 points lower at 3754 on volume of 6344 contracts.
