Half-time round-up:Stocks were little changed at lunchtime in...

Half-time round-up:

Stocks were little changed at lunchtime in cautious trade ahead of this afternoon's RBA interest rate decision.

The ASX 200 was down 2 points or 0.04% at 4699 as investors mulled the prospect of an unprecedented third consecutive monthly rise in the cash rate. Gold at +1% and telecoms +1% were the pick of the sectors, while property trusts were the main drag at -1%. Financials were off 0.1% after yesterday's big advance and miners slipped 0.2%.

Chinese gold producer Zijin Mining Group launched a $545 million bid for Indophil Resources this morning. The friendly takeover offer is pitched at $1.28 per share.

In economic news, a measure of Australian manufacturing activity eased in November for a second month but employment jumped. The AIG/PriceWaterhouseCoopers Performance of Manufacturing Index slipped 0.5 points to 51.2 in November, but held above the 50 threshold that indicates expansion. The index of employment surged 9.1 points to 53.7, the first expansion in 23 months.

"The modest growth in activity in November underlines the tentative nature of the recovery," said Ai group Chief Executive Heather Ridout. "While new orders growth remained in positive territory, the stronger pace of improvement evident in October was short-lived. The strength of the Australian dollar is proving to be an important barrier to stronger recovery, adding to the need for caution in raising interest rates."

Asian markets were modestly lower. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.89%, Shanghai 0.14% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.04%. Dow futures were at -10.

Crude oil was flat at $77.18 a barrel. The spot gold price climbed 90 cents to $1,178.30 an ounce.


Dog of a morning here. Technical problems, misjudged buys, missed profit opportunities, stop losses triggered - had the lot today. Nothing too serious but the end result will be a rare losing day. All part of the business. Suck it up princess.