Shares flat after BHP sell-off

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Shares flat after BHP sell-off

Close The Australian stockmarket ended flat in quiet trade after BHP Billiton shares were sold off in late trade.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index inched up 0.9 points to 4767.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index added 2.5 points to 4853.4.

Among the major sectors, both financials and materials slipped 0.1 per cent, while gold stocks added 0.9 per cent.

need2know:
- The dollar hovers around 99.5 US cents
- Asian shares flat but car makers gain
- Gold slips below $US1400 an ounce
- Oil holds above $US88 a barrel
- Dow futures are 19 points lower at 11,402

    The Australian dollar breached parity with the greenback overnight, but was recently trading at 99.5 US cents.

    The Westpac Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index for December came in well above its long-term average, suggesting consumers will make a solid contribution to growth and corporate profits in coming months.

    Despite this positive news, the S&P/ASX 200 index was pulled back by some profit taking in BHP today,said CMC Markets strategist Ric Spooner.

    "Copper prices which have rallied strongly in recent days were a little lower in New York last night and Shanghai today, and this influenced investor thinking on BHP," he said, adding BHP accounted for a 16-point fall on the key indices. ‘‘Had it not been for BHP, the index would have finished stronger."

    BHP Billiton was down 30 cents at $45.35 and Rio Tinto eased 88 cents, or 1 per cent, to $87.02.

    Rio Tinto said it would spend about $US1.058 billion to undertake major works at its Canadian operations in Quebec and British Columbia.

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    Westpac bucks trend

    The big four banks, excluding Westpac, were lower. The bank said at its annual general meeting that it expected the economy to improve in the forthcoming year, but it expects some of the legacies of the global financial crisis will remain with it for ‘‘some considerable time’’. Westpac was up 7 cents at $23.07.

    National Australia Bank was down 6 cents at $24.45, ANZ fell 13 cents to $23.82 and Commonwealth gave up 15 cents to $50.50.

    In other news, Origin Energy announced it had bought the retail businesses of NSW government power distributors, Integral Energy and Country Energy, and the output of generator Eraring Energy, for $3.25 billion, which Origin says was a ‘‘fair price’’.

    Shares in Origin were up 30 cents, or 1.8 per cent, at $17.10.

    Rival AGL Energy , which was the surprise loser in the bid, fell 1.1 per cent, adding to a 4.9 per cent fall the previous day, even after it defended its decision not to pay up for one of the state's two smaller energy retailers.

    "I've got no regrets whatsoever. I'm absolutely convinced that we've done the right thing for our shareholders," AGL chief executive Michael Fraser said.

    Among other energy stocks, Woodside backtracked 8 cents to $43.28 and Santos eased 9 cents to $12.60.

    CSR rallies

    The best performing stock on the S&P/ASX 100 index was CSR, after New Zealand regulators gave the nod to the sale of its sugar and energy business, Sucrogen, to Asian agribusiness Wilmar International for $1.75 billion. CSR shares finished 7 cents, or 4.1 per cent, firmer at $1.775.

    Billabong was the worst performing stock on the S&P/ASX 100 index after the surfwear retailer cut its first half profit guidance.Its shares were down 79 cents, or 8.9 per cent, at $8.10.

    The top-traded stock by volume was Mantle Mining, with 144.48 million shares worth $8.62 million changing hands. Mantle shares soared 2.2 cents, or 57.9 per cent, to 6 cents after the company announced positive drilling results from its coal exploration program.

    National turnover was 2.73 billion shares worth $6.08 billion, with 564 stocks up, 539 down and 381 unchanged.

    AAP, Reuters, with BusinessDay

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