In a sea of geopolitical doom, upbeat company reports acted as a shining light. Strong reports from Sims and Seek, as well as a record dividend from BHP, saw those three companies hit the top five with a bullet. BHP's share price failed to maintain momentum as iron ore futures tanked. Brambles responded to media speculation it's in talks with private equity giant KKR just before the close, but its denial was not enough to dampen enthusiasm about M&A with shares closing up 7%. At the bottom of the ladder was Beach Energy, which erased yesterday’s gains after a downgrade from Macquarie. While quality companies held their own, it wasn’t enough to save the broader market and the S&P/ASX200 closed down 37 points or -0.5%.

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