Miners drag market lower
The local market had lost 1.1% by noon Friday, though is still 3.7% higher for the week. Shares were weighed down by a slump in energy and resource stocks, while investors booked profits following the week’s strong gains.
At lunch, the All Ords had lost 46.7 to 4,711.5, while the ASX/200 shed 51.7 to 4,696.2. About 780 million shares worth around $1.9 billion had changed hands.
The Materials and Resources sector lost 1.6% as the price of nickel hit four-month lows in London overnight.
BHP Billiton lost 71c to $38.84, and was just pipped by the NAB as the largest points loss for the broader ASX/200.
Rio Tinto shed 89c, or 1.3% to $68.95.
Gold miner Newcrest lost nearly $1 to be at $34.66. Fortescue fell 8c to $3.99.
Bluescope shed 5c to $2.84 after featuring heavily in broker reports this morning. The stock hasn’t closed below its current level since 17 July.
Energy stocks retreated 0.7% following broad-based losses in that sector on Wall Street and a 3% fall in the price of crude.
Woodside, Oil Search and Santos all lost between 1% and 1.5%.
Meanwhile, uranium specialists Paladin and Extract Resources lost 2.6% and 3.1% to $4.12 and $8.14 respectively.
The Banks and Financials sector lost 1.5%.
NAB weakened $1.09, or 3.6% to $28.94, while Bank of Queensland dipped 42c or 3.5% to $11.71. Both stocks went ex-div today.
Westpac lost 14c to $25.90, while ANZ was down 38c to $22.56.
Investment bank Macquarie slid 36c, or 0.7% to $49.11.
Property Trusts fell 1.5% on the back of a 28c, or 2.2% drop in the price of Westfield shares to $12.25. JPMorgan downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’.
The Industrial sector was a mix of gainers and losers, though the latter outnumbered the former to see the sector down 0.7% at lunch.
Leightons lost 20c, or 0.5% to $37.54, while Asciano shed 4.5c to $1.595.
Seek fell 22c, or 3.6% to $5.94 as Brambles dipped 3c to $6.96.
Boart Longyear added 0.5c to 30.5c.
The Consumer Discretionary sector lost 0.4%.
Kathmandu jumped 6.5%, or 10c to $1.81 on its share market debut. Myer was steady at $3.92 and still below the $4.10 offer price nearly two weeks after listing.
Kathmandu floated with an issue of 200 million shares, valuing the company by lunch at around $362 million.
Gamers were relatively flat with the exception of Tabcorp, which lost 17c to $7.19 following newspaper reports it would move into pubs with a bid for National Leisure and Gaming. National Leisure shares soared 30% to 3.9c each.
The Consumer Staples sector outperformed the market by rising 0.6%. Wesfarmers added 35c, or 1.3% to $28.04, while Woolworths gained 19c to $28.19.
Foster's and Coca-Cola Amatil also posted gains, up 7c and 10c to $5.61 and $10.51 respectively.
Telstra gained 3c, or 0.9% to $3.31, to lead the Telecommunications sector 0.5% higher.
SPT Telemedia surged 21.5c, or 14.1% to $1.745 following the agreement earlier in the week to purchase Pipe Networks.
Healthcare stocks were down 0.6% as sector major CSL lost 33c to $31.67.
Around the region, the Nikkei 225 shed 53.4 to 9,751.1, while the Straits Times Index lost 17.9 to 2,708.4. Across the Tasman, the NZSE50 dipped 10.6 to 3,161.5.
Spot gold was trading at US$1,102.62 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9252.
Warehouse first quarter sales drop 1%
The Warehouse Group reported a 1% drop in sales to $362.9m for the quarter ended 1 November 2009 versus the previous corresponding period. The New Zealand based group said first quarter sales, adjusted for discontinued activities, were up 1.1% to $317.7 million with same store sales up 0.5%.
At lunch, The Warehouse Group shares were unchanged at $3.30.
Automotive Holdings trading on the improve
Automotive Holdings Group reported an unaudited NPAT from continuing operations for the four months to 31 October 2009 of $16.7m, representing a 67% on the previous corresponding period. The company attributed the rise to improved market conditions and a continuation of a strong second half of FY09.
At noon, Automotive Holdings' shares were up 9c to $2.25.
GPT unwinds offshore hedge positions
GPT Group said it has finalised the unwinding of its $1.2bn of excess offshore interest rate hedges at a cost of $152m. The group said the termination of the hedges would result in a reduction of GPT’s average interest rate across its borrowings of approximately 1.2%.
At midday, GPT shares were down 1c to 63c.
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