1430 [Dow Jones] LME copper little changed this morning, but...

1430 [Dow Jones] LME copper little changed this morning, but analysts say
prices will fall further once ring trading begins in London. Traders almost
certain stocks will rise at LME warehouses, which may lead to even more long
liquidation. Aluminum, meanwhile, looks set for further rise in prices on LME,
as Chinese government may end 8% tax rebate on exports of it early next year. At
present, copper $2,942 and aluminum at $1,824.50. (PIB)

1420 [Dow Jones] Australian treasurer Costello lauds healthy consumer
confidence, slowing in housing finance levels in Parliament; says cooling
housing market removes economic hot spot of continued unsustainable house price
rises. Number of housing-finance approvals down 0.2% in October; consumer
sentiment index down 2.9% in December vs November but still at healthy levels.
RBA kept rates on hold at 5.25% today, with economists citing cooling housing
sector as major reason behind continued on-hold stance.(MLS)

1354 [Dow Jones] NAB (NAB) near day's high in early afternoon trade with ION
(ION) exposure having little impact. Bank analyst says ION won't lead to NAB
FY05 reassessment unless specific provision is A$100 million or so; notes
already predicting sharp rise in NAB debt charges this year. NAB up 8 cents at
A$28.13, high A$28.15. Westpac (WBC) up 0.7%, also has ION exposure alongside
NAB and Commonwealth Bank (CBA), latter up 0.3%. (IGP)

1350 [Dow Jones] S&P/ASX 200 down 0.6% or 25.1 points at 3902.4 in afternoon
trade, hurt by falls in oil companies Woodside Petroleum (WPL) and Santos (STO)
as well as wider resources sector. Woodside down 2.2% at A$19.31, STO down 3.8%
at A$8.29, follow further slide in oil prices. BHP Billion (BHP) and Rio Tinto
(RIO) down 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively, following strong runs in recent months.
"It's not really very surprising because they've had such a strong run, we are
going to see days when those stocks pull back a little bit; in terms of the big
picture, year on year they're still up quite substantially," says Goldman Sachs
JBWere private-client adviser Sarah Rubython. (LXV MDB)

1341 [Dow Jones] STOCK CALL: ABN AMRO Morgans downgrades Colorado (CDO) to
Hold from Add as stock reaches price target A$6.24, last A$6.29, down 18 cents.
"CDO continues to perform well, a beneficiary of the solid retail environment,
strong AUD and internal initiatives," broker says. (IGP)

1320 [Dow Jones] Dominion Mining (DOM) bucks weaker sector trend, adding 7.9%
to 41 cents on 545,492 shares traded. Fueling gain, news of wide, high-grade
highly commercial exploration drilling at Challenger underground mine, including
22 meters grading 42.8 grams/ton, 15.5 meters grading 13 grams/ton. Assays
include much higher grade, but narrow assays, for example 2 meters at 182
grams/ton. Full underground production on track to start early 2005, DOM says.
(RCB)

1318 [Dow Jones] Air New Zealand (AIZ) CEO and chairman remain tightlipped
during first appearance before Parliamentary select committee, don't give away
sensitive information; pair reiterate AIZ's hope to resume paying dividend in
FY05; say discussions going on "at various levels" with Qantas (QAN) about where
airlines can become closer, with cargo, sharing of parts on common aircraft,
engineering being targeted; add AIZ still battling to get more access to U.K.
market, would like to have twice daily services. AIZ now flat at NZ$1.68, up 1
cent at A$1.55 on ASX. (POR)

1315 [Dow Jones] After AUD/USD took out important levels between 0.7680 and
0.7700, what will be significant short term is whether pair can get back above
0.7700, says Westpac FX strategist Robert Rennie. If pair can't establish itself
back above 0.7700, "feels as if the Aussie has lower to go and certainly a test
down toward 0.7600 is achievable," he says. Pair last at 0.7694. (RBT)

1314 [Dow Jones] Players expect Nikkei to continue range-bound trading after
showing resilience to weaker-than-expected revised Japan GDP, declines in U.S.
stocks overnight. Index ends morning session up 0.1% at 10884.88, after
initially falling as low as 10808.44, on recovery in select technology, exporter
blue chips boosts. Players await more data next week. Losers outnumbering
gainers 832 to 571 on broader TSE first section. Topix +0.1% at 1094.69. (NXN)

1311 [Dow Jones] Oilex (OEX) slumps 15% to 85 cents on 2.1 million shares
traded. Slump follows news Rookwood East-1 well recovers water, a result OEX
says defines western boundary of field. Victoria Petroleum (VPE), which holds
29.69% stake in Rookwood block, unchanged at 4.5 cents. (RCB)

1309 [Dow Jones] Spot gold last $449.40/oz, down $2.35 since close of open
outcry trading on Comex. Yellow metal initially pressured by after-hours Comex
selling on Access, with U.S. players continuing to book profits after USD
decline stopped Tuesday, traders say. Long liquidation continued through Tocom
open with USD showing signs of strength this morning; some offering by
Australian dealers also pressuring bullion, Sydney trader says. But good initial
support at $448 expected to contain fall through Asian trade today. Most active
Oct. 2005 Tocom contract last Y1,492/gram, down Y4. (NSC)

1308 [Dow Jones] AUD/USD tumbles through 0.7700, dips to low about 0.7679,
before rebounding partially to about 0.7693. Westpac strategist Robert Rennie
says fall took out range of rising stops below 0.7700. Could be related to
general concern over commodity block after dovish BOC statement suggesting rates
on hold for foreseeable future. Given level of monetary stimulus still within
Canada, if shifting to neutral policy, "one wonders what some of the other
commodity block central banks may be doing," he says. (RBT)

1243 [Dow Jones] Second tier coal miners slump in broadly weaker market as
profit takers move to lock in some of 2004's sensational gains. No reason to
think that industry fundamentals, essentially underpinned by strong demand,
about to change any time soon, with these still pointing to strong price gains
for contract prices next Japanese fiscal year. Among coal miners to suffer, New
Hope (NHC) loses 4.7%, Macarthur (MCC) falls 5.1%, Centennial (CEY) sheds 4.9%,
Excel (EXL) slips 6.3% as does Gloucester (GCL). (RCB)