All Ordinaries index was down 1 point, to 4,651 points.
Analyst said "The unemployment number came out this morning and it goes to show that the doom-and-gloom merchants have got it wrong. Banking stocks had been buoyed by the news. They are well leveraged to a better economy, which has been evidenced from these employment data. The market has got this end-of-calendar-year, pre-Christmas, really dull feel to it. A number of players are sidelined and there is not a lot of interest in the market. A lot of cash has been taken out by placements, capital raisings, and there isn't a lot of fun out there,"
ABS has releases key figures on the Australian labour market showing that employment rose by 31,200 in November resulting in a fall in the unemployment rate to 5.7%.
Chairman of regional lender Bank of Queensland Ltd (BOQ), Neil Summerson has told shareholders that economic data is pointing to more conducive trading conditions for the bank in 2010 than the past 12 months. This combined with the sustainable lower cost base now in place as a result of the bank’s successfully completed Project Pathways, Mr Summerson says, can be leveraged to grow shareholder wealth. Bank of Queensland shares dropped 2.35 per cent to $11.22.
The best performing sector at midday is the Telco Services index up 8 points at 1,180.
The worst performing sector at midday is the Real Estate Investment Trust index, down 2 points to 853.
Gold is trading at US$1,134.70 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 91.51 US cents.
NCM: holding KRL: Still holding from .175c WHN: Sit tight from 8c KBC: Watching and Q @.091c
