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A positive announcement from CBA just moments prior to the close saw the Australian market close flat Friday after spending the session entrenched in the red. While financials led gains the energy sector was the major drag.

At the bell, the All Ords was up 0.1 to 4,929.5, while the ASX/200 added 1.6 to 4,899.6. About 2.7 billion shares worth around $4.5 billion had changed hands.

CBA led the Banks and Financials sector 0.6% higher after the bank said it expects to report unaudited cash NPAT for the half year ended 31 December 2009 of approximately $2.9 billion, well ahead of current analysts’ consensus of approximately $2.7 billion.

CBA shares finished $1.31 higher at $58.10, while NAB gained 25c to $27.30.

Insurers were mixed though losses outweighed gains. QBE, the largest insurer with a market cap of around $25 billion, retreated 2.2% to $24.04 per share.

Westfield added 4c to $12.60. The broader Property Trusts sector advanced 0.3% as CFS Retail Property rallying 3.2% to $1.955.
 
Santos shed 19c, or 1.4% to $13.76 in the Energy sector after Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock. 

Meanwhile ML's preferred stock in the sector, Oil Search, retreated 5c, or 0.8% to $6.03. The broader sector was down 1%.

Woodside lost 77c, or 1.6% to $47.65.

Origin Energy, which this morning announced the first shipment of oil from its Kupe field in New Zealand, weakened 3c to $17.31.

Otto Energy soared 21.3% after it announced BHP Billiton would farm-in a Filipino exploration license.

Meanwhile Karoon Gas dropped 6.3% to $7.50 after slumping 25% yesterday.

The Materials and Resources sector was weighed 0.4% lower by declines among mid-capped stocks. Heavyweight BHP Billiton dipped 13c to $43.65, while Rio Tinto slid 53c to $78.62 after announcing late yesterday record iron ore sales for the December quarter.

Steelmakers OneSteel and Bluescope fell 2% and 1.9% to $3.49 and $3.03.

Fortescue was the stand out, rallying 10c, or 1.9% to $5.38.

Macarthur lost 16c, or 1.4% to $11.38 despite the company upgrading its profit guidance for the year. The miner flagged continuing delays in the development of its Middlemount mine.

The Industrials sector was 0.2% lower, with Brambles down 7c, or 1% to $6.89.
 
Leighton added 0.6% to $40.08, while Qantas put on 1c to $2.94.
 
Consumer Staples was flat with Woolworths dragging, down 19c to $27.94.

Coca-Cola gained 13c, or 1.2% higher to $11.29 despite Credit Suisse downgrading the stock to “underperform”.

Wesfarmers edged 3c higher to $31.05.

Consumer Discretionary advanced 0.4% despite significant falls within the sector.

Media company Fairfax jumped 4.5c, or 2.6% to $1.78, while Newscorp gained 8c to $17.20.

Retailer Pacific Brands rose 3c to $1.165 as the larger capped Billabong and Harvey Norman lost 0.9% and 1% to $11.79 and $3.83 respectively.

Among the gamers Sky City shed 3% to $2.62 and Tabcorp added 10c to $7.16.

Among Healthcare stocks, vaccine producer CSL lost 0.2% to $31.52, while Sonic Healthcare climbed 27c, to $14.98. The sector rose 0.1%.

Telstra shed 2c to $3.33 as the ACCC launched a review of the telco’s retail prices following a Federal Government request. The broader Telecommunications lost 0.5%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 gained 37.3 to 10,945.0, while the Straits Times Index advanced 6.2 to 2,915.8. Meanwhile, the NZSE50 lost 20.4 to 3,258.0. The Hang Seng shed 52.6 to 21,664.4.  

Spot gold was trading at US$1,137.90 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9272.

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Macarthur Coal upgrades profit guidance
Macarthur Coal said that coal sales in the six months to 31 December 2009 had outstripped guidance the miner had offered as recently as 18 November. As a result, the company said it had revised its profit guidance for the six months to December 2009 to be in the range of $37 million to $42 million, ahead of the $30 million to $38 million previously flagged.

At the end of the day, Macarthur shares were down 16c to $11.38 each.

CSR prefers demerger to Bright Food offer
CSR said, last night, its preferred option continues to be to progress the demerger proposal of its Sugar and Renewable business. The conglomerate said it has considered the expression of interest from Bright Food Group including its offer to hold discussions to develop a proposal to acquire CSR’s Sugar and Renewable Energy business.

At the close, CSR shares were unchanged at $1.98.

Origin to make first shipment from Kupe
Origin Energy said that it is shipping its first oil from New Zealand’s Kupe field next week. Origin said the shipment is expected to be the first of 254 Petajoules of natural gas, 1.1 million tonnes of LPG and 14.7 million barrels of light crude produced over the next 15 to 20 years.

By the finish, Origin shares were trading down 3c to $17.31.

Bow, Eastern Star face wet weather delays
Recent rainfall has affected the operations of two gas explorers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Bow Energy and Eastern Star Gas have both been faced with delays to their operations as they wait for floodwaters to recede.

At the end of the day, Bow Energy shares were down 0.5c to $1.41, while Eastern Star Gas shares were down 2.5c to 89c.

ThinkSmart signs UK funding agreement
ThinkSmart has signed a wholesale funding agreement with Secure Trust Bank in the UK. The international computer and office equipment financing company said the three-and-a-half year agreement positioned Secure Smart as ThinkSmart’s primary business-to-business funder to their UK operations.

At the close, ThinkSmart shares were down 1c to 92c.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) said, at the close of trade Friday, it was expecting a post-tax profit for the six months to 31 December 2009 of around $2.9 billion. The bank said this was ‘well ahead’ of consensus estimates of a profit of around $2.7 billion. 

The Commonwealth Bank said the upbeat forecast was on the back of solid income and volume growth across the banking business. Other contributing factors the bank noted include fewer writedowns which had racked the sector in recent times and resurgent equity market.

The bank in the previous corresponding period posted a net profit of $2.573 billion, with this year’s finalised figures set to be release on 11 February 2009.

At the close of the trade Friday, Commonwealth Bank shares were up $1.31 to $58.10, rising from a loss in the last few minutes of trade.

Origin Energy Limited (ORG) and US listed company Micron Technology, Inc. have formed a 50:50 joint venture with a focus on the development of photovoltaic technology. Origin said the near term objective with the semiconductor solution provider is to combine the work Origin has done to date in solar development with Micron’s capabilities and to examine opportunities for commercialisation.

The local share market drifted 0.7% lower on Friday morning despite a positive lead from Wall Street and a strong profit result from US giant Intel shortly after the US market closed. The major players in most of the sectors drifted lower, while only healthcare showed resilience.

At midday, the All Ords was down 25.0 to 4,904.4, while the ASX/200 retreated 28.1 to 4,869.9. About 1.3 billion shares worth around $1.9 billion had changed hands.

The Banks and Financials sector was down 0.5% on a slow news day for the sector. ANZ and CBA were both 0.5% lower to $$22.28 and $56.51 respectively.

Westpac lost 19c to $25.19, while NAB retreated 21c, or 0.8% to $26.84.

Insurers were mixed though losses outweighed gains. QBE, the largest insurer with a market cap of around $25 billion, retreated 1.4% to $24.23 per share.

Westfield lost 2c to $12.54. The broader Property Trusts sector shed 0.1%.

Goodman Group, Mirvac and Stockland lost 0.8%, 0.9% and 0.5% respectively.

Santos shed 18c, or 1.3% to $13.77 in the Energy sector after Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock. 

Meanwhile ML's preferred stock in the sector, Oil Search, retreated 4c, or 0.7% to $6.04. The broader sector was down 1%.

Woodside lost 61c, or 1.3% to $47.81.

Origin Energy, which this morning announced the first shipment of oil from its Kupe field in New Zealand, weakened 13c, or 0.7% to $17.21.

Otto Energy soared 27% after it announced BHP Billiton would farm-in a Filipino exploration license.

Meanwhile Karoon Gas recovered from heavy early selling to be flat at lunch, though still has a long way to go recoup yesterday’s 25% drop in its stock price.

The Materials and Resources sector was weighed 0.8% lower by declines from Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. Rio, which late yesterday announced record iron ore sales for the December quarter, lost 56c, or 0.7% to $78.59.

BHP Billiton slid 0.8% to be trading at $43.43.

Among the mid-cap stocks, Fortescue was the stand out, rallying 7c, or 1.3% to $5.35.

Macarthur lost 24c, or 2.1% to $11.33 despite the company upgrading its profit guidance for the year. The miner flagged continuing delays in the development of its Middlemount mine.

The Industrials sector was 0.5% lower, with Brambles down 11c, or 1.6% to $6.85.

Of the gainers, Leighton added 0.6% to $40.10, while Qantas put on 2c to $2.95.

Asciano retreated 3c, or 1.6% to $1.875.

The Consumer Staples was quiet with a 0.1% loss from Woolworths helping to drag the sector down 0.3%.

Coca-Cola edged 10c higher, or 0.9% to $11.26, despite Credit Suisse downgrading the stock to “underperform”.

Wesfarmers eased 6c lower to $30.96.

Despite Billabong losing 2.1% other retailers helped the Consumer Discretionary to remain flat at lunch.

Wotif.com continued its recent rally, up 14c or 2% to $.723.

The gamers were flat, while among the media stocks Newscorp returned to the winners circle, rising 16c, or 0.9% to $17.28.

Among Healthcare stocks, vaccine producer CSL lost 0.4%, while Sonic Healthcare climbed 22c, to $14.93. The sector dipped 0.2%.

Telstra was 3c, or 0.9% below the gain line at $3.32. The broader Telecommunications lost 0.8%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 gained 48.3 to 10,955.9, while the Straits Times Index advanced 6.2 to 2,915.8. Meanwhile, the NZSE50 edged 9.0 lower to 3,269.4.

Spot gold was trading at US$1,143.00 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9294.

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Macarthur Coal upgrades profit guidance
Macarthur Coal said that coal sales in the six months to 31 December 2009 had outstripped guidance the miner had offered as recently as 18 November. As a result, the company said it had revised its profit guidance for the six months to December 2009 to be in the range of $37 million to $42 million, ahead of the $30 million to $38 million previously flagged.

At lunch, Macarthur shares were down 25c to $11.29 each.

CSR prefers demerger to Bright Food offer
CSR said, last night, its preferred option continues to be to progress the demerger proposal of its Sugar and Renewable business. The conglomerate said it has considered the expression of interest from Bright Food Group including its offer to hold discussions to develop a proposal to acquire CSR’s Sugar and Renewable Energy business.

At midday, CSR shares were down 2.5c to $1.955.

Origin to make first shipment from Kupe
Origin Energy said that it is shipping its first oil from New Zealand’s Kupe field next week. Origin said the shipment is expected to be the first of 254 Petajoules of natural gas, 1.1 million tonnes of LPG and 14.7 million barrels of light crude produced over the next 15 to 20 years.

At noon, Origin shares were trading down 13c to $17.21.

Bow, Eastern Star face wet weather delays
Recent rainfall has affected the operations of two gas explorers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Bow Energy and Eastern Star Gas have both been faced with delays to their operations as they wait for floodwaters to recede.

At lunchtime, Bow Energy shares were down 1.5c to $1.40, while Eastern Star Gas shares were down 3.5c to 88c.

ThinkSmart signs UK funding agreement
ThinkSmart has signed a wholesale funding agreement with Secure Trust Bank in the UK. The international computer and office equipment financing company said the three-and-a-half year agreement positioned Secure Smart as ThinkSmart’s primary business-to-business funder to their UK operations.

At midday, ThinkSmart shares were down 1c to 92c.

Origin Energy Limited (ORG) said that it is shipping its first oil from New Zealand’s Kupe field next week. Origin said the shipment is expected to be the first of 254 Petajoules of natural gas, 1.1 million tonnes of LPG and 14.7 million barrels of light crude produced over the next 15 to 20 years.

The first shipment was contracted to BP and would be between 120,000 and 180,000 barrels and is destined for the Kwinana refinery in Australia.

The 50%-owned Origin-owned Kupe field was expected, when fully operational, to provide between 10% and 15% of New Zealand’s annual gas requirements and 50% of its LPG.

At 1111 AEDT, Origin shares were trading down 15c, or 0.9% to $17.19.