The Australian share market has closed slightly better than flat as a rise in overseas markets reflected optimism about a bailout deal for debt-ridden Greece.
Phillip Capital senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said although the Australian market had drifted in the afternoon, it had been in positive territory for most of the day.
That followed gains on Monday and Tuesday, which could indicate that the negative sentiment that had led to a steep sell-off in May and early June had passed.
Bargain-hunting investors were now searching for cheap stocks.
“I think we’re now focusing on the fundamentals as I call it when there’s no major negatives around other than the Greek saga,” Mr Heffernan said.
“But it (the Greek debt saga) is more a soap opera rather than a major catastrophe.”
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank rose 43 cents to $87.19, National Australia Bank lifted 12 cents to $34.52, ANZ gained 21 cents to $33.64, but Westpac dipped three cents to $33.67.
The miners were mixed following falls in the iron ore price but rises in copper overnight.
BHP Billiton was six cents lower at $28.55, Rio Tinto shed 67 cents at $55.67, and Fortescue Metals added two cents at $2.20.
Labour hire business Skilled Group jumped 11 cents, or 7.12 per cent, to $1.655 after it agreed to a $652 million takeover from rival Programmed Maintenance Services.
Programmed put on two cents at $2.82.
Department store operator Myer was steady at $1.34 after it refinanced its $600 million debt arrangements.
IOOF tumbled 36 cents, or 3.8 per cent, to $9.12 after the financial services firm announced plans for an independent review of its operations amid claims of staff misconduct.
KEY FACTS
* On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 2.5 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 5,686.8 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 1.3 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 5,672.7 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was six points higher at 5,629 points, with 22,914 contracts traded.
* The price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEST was $US1,178.60 per fine ounce,down $US7.40 on Tuesday’s price of $US1,186.00.
* National turnover was 1.98 billion securities worth $5.6 billion.
