Australian shares fell today as the big miners sank on weaker metal prices, while James Hardie slumped after it warned analysts of declining market share.
At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 56.2 points, or 1.2 per cent, at 4605.3, with losses accelerating in the afternoon. The broader All Ordinaries index eased 52.7 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 4650.
Among the sectors, materials fell 1.5 per cent, financials lost 1.7 per cent and industrials slipped 0.5 per cent. The only sector to post gains was gold, which rose 0.9 per cent on safe-haven buying.
need2know:
- European shares edge up in early trade
- Asian shares slip amid uncertainty
- The dollar slips to 93.5 US cents
- Oil drops to $US75 as US demand slows
- Gold inches up to $US1267
- Dow futures fall 49 points to 10,460
CMC Markets head of sales trading Matthew Lewis said the market couldn’t gather the strength to push higher, despite a positive lead from Wall Street overnight.
‘‘It was fair enough, considering the run-up we’ve had this week and a lack of any material developments overnight to spur buying activity,’’ Mr Lewis said. ‘‘We’ve seen the market break out of its range in the past few sessions, and given the downside risks, it wasn’t surprising to see a few profit-takers move in today.’’
Commodity prices sink
Softer commodities prices overnight saw BHP Billiton fall 69 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $38.75 and Rio Tinto slip $1.51, or 2 per cent, to $73.79.
A part of BHP’s fall was attributed to comments from chief executive Marius Kloppers on Tuesday about the need to move away from coal for energy generation, said Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith.
In the banking sector, Commonwealth Bank was down $1.16, or 2.2 per cent, at $52.64, Westpac had dropped 35 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to to $23.28, ANZ dipped 50 cents, or 2.1 per cent, to $23.66 and NAB was 16 cents weaker at $25.78.
‘‘Bright spots could be found in the consumer staples space,’’ Mr Lewis said. ‘‘We saw Foster’s, Coca-Cola and Woolies all make solid gains. This may have been a defensive rotation play.’’
Foster’s finished 9 cents, or 1.5 per cent, firmer at $6.21, Coca-Cola put on 10 cents to $12.19 and Woolworths was 19 cents higher at $28.77.
Myer upbeat after profit fall
In the news, department store chain Myer said it expected that new and refurbished stores would lift sales along with a drop in discounting in the 2011 fiscal year, after reporting a 38.2 per cent fall in full-year profit.
‘‘The retailer also forecast full year earnings to rise from between 5 and 10 per cent,’’ Mr Lewis said. ‘‘It’s clear that Myer have had a challenging year (after listing) but they look stronger for it.’’
Myer shares closed 1 cent lower at $3.92 after hitting a high of $4.00 in intraday trade, nudging its issue price of $4.10 on October 30 last year.
Coles managing director Ian McLeod told a business forum in Perth that the supermarket chain would roll out 100 more new format stores in the current financial year. But analysts said it had a lot more work ahead as it entered the second phase of its five-year turnaround.
Shares in Coles owner Wesfarmers were down 50 cents, or 1.5 per cent, at $33.19.
Sigma Pharmaceuticals warned it would book an impairment of $220 million to $270 million in its half year results relating to the impending sale of its pharmaceuticals division. Shares in Sigma were down 2.5 cents, or 5.1 per cent, at 46.5 cents.
James Hardie gloomy
The poorest performer on the S&P/ASX 100 was James Hardie, down 35 cents, or 5.9 per cent, at $5.59, after earlier falling more than 8 per cent.
In a presentation to analysts in the United States, James Hardie said recent US housing starts forecasts had consistently been downgraded and sales of both new and existing homes were down significantly, causing housing inventories to increase.
"A high unemployment rate and ongoing mortgage foreclosure overhang makes it difficult to predict when a sustainable housing recovery will begin," the company said.
The best-performing stock on the index was Tabcorp Holdings, up 13 cents, or 1.9 per cent, at $6.86.
Investment group Future Corporation was the top-traded stock by volume, with 132.8 million shares worth $398,810 changing hands. Its shares had leapt 0.1 cents, or 50 per cent per cent, to 0.3 cents.
Preliminary market turnover was 2.92 billion shares worth $8.44 billion, with 472 stocks up, 621 down and 375 unchanged.
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AAP, with BusinessDay