The Australian share market is flat as gains in mining stocks offset weakness elsewhere in the market.
Chinese iron ore rebounded from five year lows overnight to push back above $US85 a tonne, which provided a boost for miners.
But there was weakness across most of the market as speculation the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner rather than later and unease about the upcoming Scottish independence referendum weigh on sentiment.
“People aren’t going to take really big positions ahead of those two events,” Patersons Securities economist Tony Farnham said.
Meanwhile, the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest meeting had little impact on the market, despite the central bank appearing more concerned about recent rises in the housing market.
In the resources sector, BHP Billiton rose 19 cents to $35.83, Rio Tinto gained 50 cents to $62.21, while Fortescue Metals climbed 9.5 cents to $4.05.
Smaller iron ore miners fared even better, with BC Iron up 13 cents, or more than six per cent to $2.18, while Atlas Iron lifted two cents to 59.5 cents.
The big four banks were mixed, with the Commonwealth Bank rising 13 cents to $79.05 and National Australia Bank up one cent to $33.81, while Westpac fell 4.5 cents to $33.72 and ANZ was one cent lower at $32.36.
Telstra was 1.5 cents lower at $5.47.
KEY FACTS
* At 1215 AEST the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 3.8 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 5,469.7 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index shed 5.3 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5,470.1 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was four points lower at 5,469 points, with 64,087 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 961 million securities worth $2.09 billion.
