The Australian share market has closed flat as investors wait for a sufficient catalyst to make a stronger push beyond the 5,500-point mark.
The local bourse opened higher in the wake of a stronger US market, but the solid start soon petered out.
The big miners were firmer but three of the big four major banks were weaker.
Lonsec senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said the market reached its low point after car sales data for June and the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s July board meeting minutes were released, and treaded water thereafter.
“It’s been very difficult for us to sustain a level above 5,500 points for most of this year, really,” Mr Heffernan said.
IG market strategist Stan Shamu said the interim report of the federal government’s financial system inquiry – the Murray Inquiry – caused some gyrations in bank shares.
Mr Shamu said the report raised the potential for mortgage risk weight floors, discouraged leveraging in superannuation funds and also sought to give lenders better access to information about borrowers’ financial positions.
“While some of these factors could be a negative for the banks in the near term, they will help promote a more sound financial system in the long term,” Mr Shamu said.
The major banks were mixed. Based on preliminary closing data, Commonwealth Bank dropped 21 cents to $81.50, Westpac reversed seven cents to $34.07, ANZ fell 31 cents to $33.23, and National Australia Bank firmed 17 cents to $34.01.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton gained 17 cents to $38.03, Rio Tinto found 76 cents at $63.10, and Fortescue Metals advanced seven cents to $4.31.
Whitehaven Coal jumped 7.5 cents to $1.55 after it flagged the sale of a 20 to 30 per cent stake in its Vickery mining project within the next 12 months.
Oz Minerals scraped off one cent at $4.30 after it lifted its full year copper production target but warned that its gold output may be at the bottom of its forecast range.
Energy provider SP AusNet fell 1.5 cents to $1.35 after agreeing to pay $500 million to survivors of Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires.
KEY FACTS
* At the 1615 AEST close on Tuesday, preliminary figures indicated the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 0.1 points, or zero per cent, at 5,511.3 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 0.1 points, or zero per cent, at 5,495.7 points.
* On the ASX 24 at 1628 AEST, the September share price index futures contract was 12 points lower at 5,459 points, with 22,249 contracts traded.
* Preliminary national turnover was $1.43 billion securities worth $3.35 billion.
