Profit takers step in, bourse retreats below 5000 mark

The sharemarket failed to keep its head above the milestone 5000-point mark yesterday as investors dabbled in a minor bout of profit taking.
After the celebrations - mostly in the media - about the benchmark index surpassing the psychologically important level, the ASX 200 index retreated 9.1 points to 4991.3. The broader All Ordinaries index also fell 8.9 points to 4952.7.
Telstra proved to be one of the biggest drags on the indices yesterday as it continued to suffer from the fallout over the possibility it might be forced to cut its dividend because of "horrendous" regulatory changes.
More than 62 million shares in the telecom changed hands, making it the bourse's most heavily traded stock as it fell to an all-time low, before closing down 4c at $3.66.
But as has almost become routine of late, strength among the heavyweight mining stocks prevented the bourse from sustaining a more significant fall.
CMC Markets' senior dealer, James Foulsham, said the market did suffer from a weak lead from the US and minor profit taking once investors had reached their target of 5000 points, although the generally bullish sentiment had not changed.
"People were prepared to take a risk up until that level [of 5000 points] … but people are now taking a bit of profit," he said.
Mr Foulsham said the market was set to hover around its present level until it received fresh direction, most likely from US markets.
The biggest fall in seven months in the price of crude oil dragged local oil stocks down. Woodside Petroleum fell 31c to $42.02, Santos dropped 10c to $11.10 and Oil Search shed 4c to $3.87.
But it was a different story for the large miners, with BHP Billiton rising 8c to $25.32 and Rio Tinto climbing 23c to $73.08.
Among the major banks, National Australia rose 24c to $36, but Westpac fell 1c to $24.04, the Commonwealth dropped 14c to $44.35 and ANZ sagged 5c to $26.01.
Multiplex's woes over the rebuilding of London's Wembley Stadium continued after construction workers were forced to evacuate the site when a 30-metre roof rafter was dislodged. The stock fell 5c to $3.15.
Meanwhile, Cyclone Larry may have left northern Queensland in tatters and wiped out up to 95 per cent of the country's banana crop, but the impact on the bourse was almost negligible yesterday.
Chiquita Brands was one of the few stocks to suffer from the impact of the cyclone, falling almost 9 per cent, or 5c, to 51c. The company's two banana plantations at Tully and Innisfail in far north Queensland were extensively damaged by the cyclone.
In stark contrast, sugar producer CSR jumped 9c, or more than 2 per cent, to $3.99 after the company allayed fears among investors that its operations might be affected by the cyclone.