Australian shares are flat as investors on hold until the election is over, with banking and mining stocks taking a hit.
While a coalition victory is almost a certainty, CommSec market analyst Juliana Roadley said the market was hesitant until the results of the half-Senate race were declared.
“People need to know what is the make up of the Senate so that we understand what position we’re in,” she said.
“We’ve been in a fair few years of limbo – that’s what many of the companies have been telling us; they need to see everything signed on the dotted line before they can make some major decisions.”
A strong Senate result for the coalition, or conservative minor players like Katter’s Australian Party and Palmer’s United Party, would improve the prospects of the carbon and mining taxes being repealed.
Until that is known the global miners were weaker, with BHP Billiton shedding 17 cents to $35.11, Rio Tinto losing 39 cents to $60.79 and iron ore miner Fortescue down one cent to $4.43.
The big banks were mixed, with National Australia Bank adding three cents to $32.75, but ANZ shedding five cents to $29.55, the Commonwealth Bank dropping three cents to $72.89 as Westpac fell 11 cents to $31.37.
The local market followed Wall Street’s flat finish, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.04 per cent as the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.12 per cent.
Investors are awaiting US non-farm payrolls data for August.
Ms Roadley said that even if the result was strong, the US Federal Reserve would still only taper its quantitative easing measures “slowly over time so it won’t have too much of a large effect on the US economy”.
KEY FACTS
* At 1016 AEST on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 2.1 points, or 0.04 per cent, higher at 5,144.6.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 3.7 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 5,142.1.
* The September share price index futures contract was one point lower at 5,137, with 5,893 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 164.7 million securities worth $265.7 million.
