Australian shares have opened flat as traders wait to see if the market surpasses a 19-month high reached after the New Year.
At 1014 AEDT on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 9.6 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 4,748.0 and the broader All Ordinaries index added 8.7 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 4,773.7.
On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was up 12 points at 4,717 with 7,381 contracts traded.
The S&P/ASX200 index peaked 4,750 on January 3, hitting the highest level since May 2011.
CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said traders were being cautious on Thursday as the ASX200 index approached this key technical level.
“If we don’t break through 4,750, people will see that as a failure,” he told AAP.
“People are getting a little caution.”
Energy stocks were outperforming the market, with the sector 0.55 per cent firmer at 1038 AEDT, after Woodside Petroleum revealed production and revenue had risen by about 30 per cent in 2012 to new records, because of its massive Pluto liquefied natural gas operations in Western Australia.
Woodside’s revenue in the 12 months to December 31 was $6.2 billion, up 30 per cent from $4.8 billion in 2011.
Oil and gas company Santos also revealed it was on track to meet its 2013 production forecasts after enjoying a 10 per cent rise in 2012.
Santos on Thursday said production for the 2012 calendar year rose to 52.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) from 47.2 mmboe in 2011.
Its annual sales revenues also hit a record $3.2 billion, up 18 per cent on 2011.
Uranium producer Paladin Energy and mineral sands explorer Iluka are also releasing production reports on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Qantas shares were 2.25 cents stronger at 1040 AEDT, hitting $1.56, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission gave interim authorisation of the airline’s alliance with Emirates.
The proposed alliance involves an extensive codesharing arrangement, reciprocal frequent-flyer benefits and joint marketing, pricing and coordination on certain routes between the two carriers.
It is regarded as a key plank of Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce’s plan to turn around the airline’s struggling international arm, which lost $450 million in 2011/12.
National turnover was 245.4 million shares worth $944.5 million, with 280 stocks up, 197 down and 242 unchanged.
