Markets Live: Shares led down by miners

February 10, 2012

Local shares are lower, led down by the miners as investors fret over disappointing results by BHP and Rio, while Greece's debt deal isn't brightening the mood.

4.40pm: That's all for today, and the week. We'll be back on Monday morning, from 9.30am. For a wrap of today's session, click here.

Thanks everyone for reading us. Have a good weekend!

4.29pm: The dollar ran into some profit-taking, after five straight weeks of gains left the currency overstretched and soft trade figures from China provided an excuse to sell.

The Aussie was also undermined by news that ANZ has nudged up its variable mortgage rate, adding to pressure on the Reserve Bank to cut official rates.

More below

The dollar faded away to trade at $US1.0716, from $US1.0787 in New York and a six-month peak of $US1.0845 earlier in the week.

"It's clear that bank funding costs have risen and if more do pass on those costs to customers in a broad-based way that will tend to tighten financial conditions in the economy," says Paul Bloxham, head of Australian economics at HSBC. "If the RBA then judges that conditions are tightening too much it will respond by cutting the cash rate."

4.26pm: For the week, the ASX200 slipped 0.35 per cent, posting its second consecutive week of losses and paring back the year's gains to 4.65 per cent.

4.19pm: BHP and Rio both slid 2.3 per cent, while Fortescue fell 2.8 per cent. The big banks fell between 0.3 per cent (NAB) and 1.1 per cent (Westpac). ANZ lost 0.9 per cent, but shares hardly reacted to the bank's small interest rate rise.

Newcrest Mining jumped 1.7 per cent to $34.01. Macquaries was another winner among blue chips, rising 1 per cent. Woolies gained 0.6 per cent, but Coles owner Wesfarmers fell 1.3 per cent.

4.15pm: The materials sector led the market's falls, dropping 1.5 per cent as investors continued to fret over BHP and Rio's results from earlier this week. Financials fell 0.9 per cent.

More below

Gold stocks bucked the trend, gaining 0.6 per cent, buoyed by Newcrest's strong earnings.

4.13pm: The market has closed at the day's low. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 37.6 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 4245.3, while the broader All Ords index shed 34.5 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 4322.6.

4.04pm:  David Jones has turned to computer giant IBM to help it build a better web presence to revive lacklustre internet sales.

IBM won the contract, for an undisclosed amount, to develop and integrate David Jones’ web design, online application development, social media, promotions, analytics and reporting.

4.01pm: ANZ hopes to please its investors, while trying to minimise the provocation to customers and politicians, Eric Johnston writes in a comment on the bank's rates move.

3.50pm: Furniture retailer Nick Scali's total sales increased 9 per cent in the second half of last year, but net profit fell 11 per cent.

The sales jump was attributed to new stores opened in the past 12 months. The company also declared a final dividend of 4.5 cents per share, consistent with the previous six months’ result.

Shares are down 5.2 per cent at $1.47.

Business Day Home

Back to the Top

Terms & Conditions

© 2012 Business Day Home