Close The Australian sharemarket has ended flat, trading in a narrow range for the better part of the day as investors struggled to find impulses.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index slipped 5.6 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 4688.6, down from its high of 4706.8 points reached in opening trade. The broader All Ordinaries index lost 0.7 points to 4779.4.
Gold outshone the other sectors, rising 0.8 per cent, while materials gained 0.2 per cent and financials fell 0.5 per cent.
need2know:
- The dollar slips back below 99 US cents
- Asian shares inch up on Fed comments
- Oil hits 26-month high above $US89
- Gold hovers above $US1410 an ounce
- Dow futures are flat at 11,358
"Traders essentially viewed the disappointing jobs number on Friday in the US as building another case for more stimulus measures," said CMC Markets analyst David Taylor. "The Federal Reserve has indicated they may go into bat again, and the market looks like it wants more."
Coal producer Riversdale Mining was one of the stand-outs, rising $2.21 or 15.7 per cent, at $16.31 after confirming it was the target of a $3.5 billion takeover bid from Rio Tinto.
Despite the strength in the resources sector, which was up 0.4 per cent, Rio Tinto finished down 42 cents at $86.00, while BHP Billiton was down 6 cents, at $44.53.
Gold producer Newcrest Mining closed up nearly 1 per cent, at $41.09 as the gold price went above $US1400 per ounce. Newcrest also announced it had suspended operations at its Bonikro mine in Cote d’Ivoire, following contested elections in the West African country.
Big losses for banks
The big banks all suffered losses though, with Westpac falling 25 cents, or 1.1 per cent, at $21.68, Commonwealth Bank down 14 cents at $49.29 and ANZ was 4 cents weaker at $23.27.
National Australia Bank was off 21 cents at $23.72 and Macquarie Group fell 18 cents at $35.62.
Energy companies were generally stronger, with benchmark oil up $US1.19, at $US89.19 a barrel. Woodside closed up 47 cents, at $42.68 and Oil Search was up 6 cents at $7.06.
Gas specialist Santos was up 2 cents at $12.65, while Origin Energy closed 2 cents firmer, at $16.14.
Beach Energy revealed it will alter its takeover offer for Impress Energy, terminating a merger plan and making an higher unconditional cash offer instead. Shares in Beach closed up 0.7 per cent, at 71 cents, while Impress were up about nine per cent, at 8.5 cents.
But Sigma Pharmaceuticals plummeted more than 17 per cent after the company said it stood to lose up to 15 per cent of its revenue from wholesaling because of a change in strategy by a key supplier. Sigma ended 17.35 per cent lower at 40.5 cents and Australian Pharmaceutical Industries finished down nearly 10 per cent, at 45.5 cents.
Fairfax chief exits
In media stocks, Fairfax fell 3 cents, or 2 per cent, to $1.41, after the media company said chief executive Brian McCarthy was stepping down. News Corp was off 18 cents at $16.30, while its non-voting scrip fell 35 cents, at $14.43, and Consolidated Media was flat at $3.16.
Coles owner Wesfarmers declined 6 cents, at $31.68, while Woolworths dropped 19 cents, at $26.48.
Among the department stores Myer fell 3 cents at $3.51, rival David Jones fell 4 cents, at $4.35, and Harvey Norman was 1 cent stronger, at $3.03.
The top-traded stock by volume was Impress Energy, with 185.6 million shares worth $15.8 million changing hands. Impress shares ended 0.7 cents higher at 8.5 cents.
Preliminary national turnover was 2.46 billion shares worth $4.01 billion, with 607 stocks up, 507 down and 371 unchanged.
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AAP, Reuters, with BusinessDay