daytrades april 13 afternoon

Originally posted by highlandlad ↑

The Australian share market was down at noon, after stocks failed to maintain highs reached on Monday.

All Ordinaries index had fallen 11 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,000 points.

Analyst said After the All Ordinaries had broken through the barrier of 5,000 points on Monday, it was always going to be tough to maintain those levels. It was going to be a... big ask to see the markets stay above those levels for two sessions in a row. It was not a convincing lead coming through from Wall Street overnight. The banks are probably the best of the major sub-indices with the financial sector up by about 0.25 per cent, mainly due to gains from the ANZ, Westpac and Macquarie Group,"

In economic news: The NAB March business conditions index rose 5 points to a read of 13, indicating the best conditions for Australian businesses in almost two years. Strengthening profits and increased demand for commodities helped to lift the index.

Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) subsidiary, Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ASX:ERA), says market conditions have softened during the first quarter of 2010 which will have an influence on prices in the first half. The company had previously advised that 2010 average realised sales prices were expected to remain broadly similar to 2009. The miner says production fell in the first quarter due to lower grades and the impact of seasonal weather. First quarter uranium output fell 27% to 888 tonnes compared to the same period a year ago. Average ore grade processed during the quarter of 0.17% uranium oxide was 41% lower than in the March 2009 quarter. Material mined for the March 2010 quarter dropped 60% compared to the March quarter of last year. Shares in Energy Resources of Australia fell 5.43% to $18.62.

Printing and distribution company PaperlinX Ltd (PPX) has announced the closure of its Burnie Mill in Tasmania signalling the end of the companys paper operations. PaperlinX says the closure of the mill is the final stage of its exit from its Tasmanian paper manufacturing operations.The company will now solely operate as a distributor of paper, sign and display, graphics solutions and industrial packaging to a wide range of customers in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, Europe and North America.PaperlinX says the overall total net cash cost of its exit from Tasmania is still expected to be around $10 - $20 million, while the company expects to include write-downs of around $170 million in its 2010 full year result. PaperlinX reported a $798.2 million loss for the 2009 financial year.

The best performing sector at midday is the Utilities index, up 18 points at 4,500.

The worst performing sector is the Energy index, down 185 points to 16,219.

Gold is trading at US$1,153.30 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 92.54 US cents.

MORNING TRADES

ZRL:.052c/.055c
ALT: .06c/.063c

http://www.marketwatch.com/
http://www.thebull.com.au/
http://www.news.com.au/business/