The Australian share market has closed almost flat, with investors running out of steam after a strong start.
OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said investors were still looking for assurance that the US Federal Reserve would not start tapering its economic stimulus program too soon.
He also said insurer QBE’s shock announcement on Monday that it expects a a $250 million net loss this year continued to weigh upon investor sentiment on Tuesday.
“It (the market) has completely died on its run this afternoon, unfortunately,” Mr Le Brun said.
“There could be a little bit of institutional selling around these levels.
Mr Le Brun said the major banks still had been unable to get much drive, and materials stocks were out of favour ahead of the release of Chinese economic data after the close of the market.
QBE continued to drop, falling $1.18, or 9.83 per cent, to $10.82. QBE shares fell more than 22 per cent on Monday.
Among the big four banks, Westpac lifted 10 cents to $31.19, ANZ firmed three cents to $30.78, Commonwealth Bank put on 36 cents at $75.26 and National Australia Bank was steady at $33.17.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was five cents richer at $36.82, Rio Tinto lost 36 cents at $66.17, and Fortescue Metals retreated nine cents to $5.63.
Embattled surfwear maker Billabong jumped six cents, or 18.46 per cent, to 38.5 cents as it admitted that shareholders have suffered from its drawn-out negotiations for a refinancing deal with two US investment firms.
Brambles spin-off Recall Holdings closed at $4.50 on its first day of trading as a separate entity, after starting trading at $4.15.
And Qantas shares fell three cents, or 3.02 per cent, to a record low of 96.5 cents, following on from the airline’s prediction last week of a first half loss of up to $300 million.
KEY FACTS
* At 1630 AEDT on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 0.8 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 5,143.6 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was off 2.2 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 5,146.2 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was up five points at 5,148 points, with 28,606 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.63 billion securities worth $4.65 billion.
