The Australian share market has closed almost flat as modest gains among the major banks outweighed weakness in the big miners pressured by falling iron ore prices.
CMC chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said although US and European markets had provided strong leads for the local bourse on Tuesday, a number of commodity markets were hit hard.
“While energy was lower and gold was lower, it was the falls in the iron ore index that really had participants concerned before the opening,” Mr McCarthy said.
“Having said that, we’ve actually seen rallies in iron ore futures today.
“That has meant that although iron ore stocks are under some pressure, it’s nowhere near as bad as first anticipated.”
Mr McCarthy said the surprise of the day was weakness in the property sector despite a reasonably good company earnings result from Westfield spin-off SCentre Group.
According to preliminary closing figures, shopping centre operator Scentre Group was eight cents lower at $3.47.
Scentre expects to boost operating income from of its shopping centres by up to 2.5 per cent this year.
Trading on Tuesday was also marked by a plunge in mining services company Boart Longyear, which is considering selling out to private equity after making a $US143 million first half loss.
Boart Longyear fell 2.5 cents, or 12.82 per cent, to 17 cents.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton eased three cents to $37.22, Rio Tinto dropped 43 cents to $64.11, and Fortescue Metals lost six cents to $4.28.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank added 23 cents to $80.74, National Australia Bank lifted 16 cents to $34.56, ANZ improved eight cents to $33.30, and Westpac advanced 11 cents to $34.91.
Clothing and sheets supplier Pacific Brands nudged up one cent to 58 cents despite announcing a $224 million loss and the sale of its workwear labels.
Women’s fashion retailer Specialty Fashion was eight cents lower at 93 cents after its sales and annual profit dropped.
KEY FACTS
* At 1621 AEST on Tuesday, preliminary closing figures showed that the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 2.7 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 5,637.6 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 1.7 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 5,634.5 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was one point higher at 5,601 points, with 14,176 contracts traded.
* Preliminary national turnover was 1.64 billion securities worth $3.95 billion.
