Australian shares were little changed at lunchtime following a soft morning in Asia as weak resource stocks offset gains in banks and defensive sectors.
At lunchtime the ASX 200 was three points or 0.1% ahead at 5010 after a morning spent in an unusually tight 15-point range. Property trusts +1.7%, led the sector gains, ahead of energy +0.5%, consumer staples +0.4% and financials +0.1%. Notable losses this morning included industrials, down -1.1% as mining services companies were sold down following the cancellation of Woodside Petroleum's Browse LNG project. Also weak were gold -0.9%, metals & mining -0.8% and the Small Ords -0.4%.
Asian markets endured a similarly lacklustre morning in the absence of fresh catalysts. Shanghai dipped 0.25%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.01% and Japan's Nikkei 0.81%. Dow futures were recently down 21 points or more than 0.1%.
Crude oil futures lost 17 cents this morning at US$93.32 a barrel. Spot gold firmed 60 cents to US$1,561.40 an ounce. The dollar was buying $US1.0546.
The market looks tired at the end of a big uphill run this week. The XSO has been levelling off for the last two days and now appears to be rolling over gently, although much will depend on how Wall Street reacts to the first swag of bank reports tonight. The overall market may be range-bound but I found enough volatility for some good wins this morning. CGH was a cracker from 50c. DCG also offered a quick profit. Had three goes at CDB for two wins and a brokerage. NWH was my only real mis-step - stupid day to buy after the WPL announcement.
