10:53am Share market flat on mixed lead

Tag : lead,copper

THE share market has opened flat, with the financials gaining butthe big miners dragging on the market, following a mixed lead fromWall Street overnight. Commodities were mixed, too, with oil and gold falling but coppergaining.

At 10.23am (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 3.1points, or 0.06 per cent to 5,056.9, while the broader AllOrdinaries lost 6.4 points, or 0.12 per cent to 5124.1.

The September share price index futures contract was down 28 pointsto 5054 on volume of 6322 contracts.

The banks were stronger. Commonwealth Bank gained 44 cents to$43.79, Westpac added 21 cents to $24.46, National Australia Bankwas up 28 cents to $25.53 and ANZ had risen 12 cents to $16.92.

Westpac takeover target St George was up 30 cents to $31.60.

In resources, BHP Billiton fell 29 cents, or 0.76 per cent, to$37.66 and Rio Tinto lost 16 cents, or 0.14 per cent, to $112.36.

US stocks finished mixed in fickle trading overnight, withinvestors still unsettled about the US economy ahead of Friday'semployment report and only somewhat relieved about slidingcommodities prices.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.60, or 0.20 per cent, to1274.98, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 15.51, or 0.66 percent, to 2333.73.

CMC Markets senior dealer Dominic Vaughan said the market receivedmixed leads from offshore overnight.

"The market got a wishy-washy lead out of the US lastnight," he said.

"Metal prices were down, and BHP and Rio were down on the UKand US markets."

Mr Vaughan said on the resource and energy stocks would likely dragon the bourse today but that the banks were holding up.

"We saw the resource sector slow heavily yesterday and it hascarried over into today as well.

"The banks are holding up. They're all in the green at themoment."

The energy sector was lower at 1043 AEST, with Santos down 45 centsto $17.74, Oil Search off nine cents to $5.56, and Woodside down 12cents to $56.38.

The retail sector was mixed. Woolworths added 13 cents to $27.83,Harvey Norman gained seven cents to $3.68, David Jones was up threecents to $4.46 and Wesfarmers was down 60 cents to $32.00.

Qantas had fallen four cents to $3.60, while Virgin Blue liftedfour cents, or 7.21 per cent, to 59.5 cents.