Another buoyant year for investors

Investors went on a buying spree on Friday, with sharemarkets ending the financial year on a high after the US Federal Reserve hinted it may pause in its policy of raising interest rates.
Despite a volatile ride in equities markets over the past two months, the Australian sharemarket still posted its third consecutive year of more than 20 per cent growth in total returns (including dividends) - making the gains over the past three years the best in 19 years.
While the US central bank did raise interest rates by 25 basis points overnight - the 17th consecutive rise - markets were enthused by indications it will take a breather, sparking a 2 per cent rally on Wall Street and encouraging Australian investors to push the "buy" button.
The benchmark ASX 200 index lifted 1.5 per cent, or 76.7 points, to 5073.9 on Friday - about 5 per cent below its record high on May 11. Excluding dividends, it is up almost 19 per cent over the 12 months.
The broader All Ordinaries index surged 76.1 points to 5034 on Friday, although it wasn't enough for the bourse to post its 13th consecutive quarterly gain.
ABN Amro head of Sydney sales trading Justin Gallagher said investors had breathed a sigh of relief at the Federal Reserve's outlook statement, which for once "surprised the market on the upside".
"It's a fitting end to what's been another great year," he said. "[But] I think it would be a little bit optimistic to predict that we are out of the woods at this point."
Markets around the world have suffered sharp swings throughout May and June as investors reacted to commentary from central banks about their efforts to combat inflation.
Mr Gallagher said a rising oil price would be one of the main worries for markets in coming months, because inflationary fears would become "very real if it neared $US80 a barrel". On Thursday night, the oil price surged 1.8 per cent to more than $US73 a barrel.
Nevertheless, the Federal Reserve's comments about economic growth in the US slowing have given investors some confidence.
"We are at or near the top of the rate rise cycle," Nomura Australia market strategist Eric Betts said. "There is still uncertainty but not as much as before [the Fed's] meeting."
Investors also cheered the end of the financial year, as they enjoyed total returns of 22 per cent from the major indices.
"It will put a smile on the faces of those looking at their nest eggs," said Colonial First State's head of investment markets research, Hans Kunnen.

"Resources led us up and down in May and June but the bigger picture for the globe and Australia remains in place."
But Mr Kunnen warned investors not to expect a repeat of the returns over the past three years as rising global interest rates would take the fizz out of growth.
"It will still be good, just not sensational," he said. "I just hope we haven't become accustomed to 20 per cent-plus returns."
Among the top 200 companies, resource firms dominated the list of best-performing stocks over the year. The top prize went to gold and base metals producer Oxiana, which surged 255 per cent over the 12 months on the back of booming metal prices and aggressive expansion.
Iron ore group Fortescue Metals finished a close second, up more than 251 per cent. In third place was uranium explorer Paladin Resources, which was up 250 per cent.
Job ads website Seek, which listed only in April last year, was one of the few standout companies not linked to the resources boom. It rose more than 132 per cent over the year.
Car parts retailer Repco took out the title of dog of the year, falling more than 58 per cent after issuing three profit warnings for the financial year.
Telecom New Zealand, the owner of Australian telco AAPT, also featured among the worst performers, falling almost 39 per cent over the 12 months due largely to the prospect of a harsher regulatory environment across the Tasman.
Meanwhile, market heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto helped push the materials index up more than 45 per cent over the year.
But the poor performance of Telecom NZ and Telstra weighed on the telco index, which fell more than 28 per cent.
The ASX 200 outperformed both the Dow Jones and FTSE indices, which rose almost 9 per cent and 13 per cent respectively over the year. But Germany's Dax beat the Australian benchmark index (up almost 22 per cent), as did Japan's Nikkei (up 33 per cent).
CommSec chief equities economist Craig James agreed the gains of the past 12 months were unlikely to be repeated but he still expected shares to rise by about 12 per cent in 2006-07.

Market up as investors ignore scare bears

Stronger base metal prices and an upbeat Wall Street helped boost the sharemarket yesterday.
The ASX 200 index climbed 50.4 points to 4997.2 and the All Ordinaries rose 48.7 points to 4957.9 after the Dow Jones closed 48.82 points higher at 10,973.56.
ABN Amro Morgan client adviser Margaret Morrissey said the market had factored in a 25 basis point interest rate rise that was expected to be announced late last night by the US Federal Reserve.
"The scare bears were out there saying there would be a 50 basis point rise but I reckon it will be 25 and that's been factored in by the market," Ms Morrissey said.
There had also been a lot of window dressing by institutional investors tidying up their books before the end of the financial year, she said.
Higher commodity prices and stronger Asian markets helped boost resources stocks. BHP Billiton rose 46c to $27.79, Rio Tinto rose $1.28 to $75.59 and oil and gas producer Woodside 48c to $43.28.
Newcrest Mining rose 34c to $19.99, Lihir Gold edged up 1c to $2.70 and Newmont Mining added 6c to $6.81.
Ms Morrissey said Woolworths hit new highs after an analyst's report said Coles Myer was likely to merge its Bi-Lo stores with Coles supermarkets.
"There's a potential upside for Woolworths if Coles Myer does merge those stores because they could pick up some cranky customers," Ms Morrissey said.
Woolworths rose 41c to $20.16 after hitting a record high of $20.37. Coles Myer added 10c to $11.37.
Just Group fell 5c to $3.38 after announcing Howard McDonald would step down as managing director of the youth fashion business.
The major banks were higher. Westpac rose 40c to $22.85, CBA 61c to $43.90, ANZ 27c to $26.20 and NAB 41c to $34.80.
BlueScope Steel fell 29c to $8.04 after it announced 600 job cuts across its operations and warned of lower profits due to higher iron ore prices.
The company said it expected to deliver after-tax earnings per share in 2005-06 at the lower end of its outlook of 65c to 75c.
The Minister for Communications, Helen Coonan, told a business luncheon she was confident some of the media reforms would take effect by the end of this year.
Ms Morrissey said ABN Amro Morgan had upgraded John Fairfax to a buy with strong growth in digital revenue.
Fairfax rose 7c to $3.67 while PBL surged 55c to $18.
Global beverages firm Foster's Group rose 8c to $5.45 after saying it would sell one French and two Australian wineries, along with some packaging facilities, as it consolidated winemaking at regional sites.
Brambles Industries, which reaffirmed its expectations for "good progress" in profit and solid cash generation for 2005-06, climbed 20c to $10.70.
Telstra was steady at $3.69 with more than 31 million shares traded as the telecom's boss, Sol Trujillo, said the company would not invest in a new high-speed broadband network unless it could be guaranteed commercial returns on the project.

Wall Street worries drag down ASX

The sharemarket was in the doldrums yesterday, taking its cue from a miserable Wall Street ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later this week.
Shares were lower across the board, led by the resources and banking sectors. The ASX200 fell 52.4 points to 4946.8 while the All Ordinaries closed down 48.4 at 4909.2.
At the close of day trading on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index had weakened 43 to 4937.
ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Bill Bishop said local investors had convinced themselves that Wall Street had priced in the expected interest rate rise but this had turned out not to be the case.
"People are just a bit edgy and it doesn't take much for them to start selling," he said.
"That's been brought about by the volatility of the sharemarket over the last six weeks."
US stocks lost more than 1 per cent on Tuesday, amid uncertainty about interest rates.
The Federal Reserve is expected to lift rates by 0.25 to 5.25 per cent today but there are suggestions it might make a more dramatic 0.5 point rise.
The Dow Jones industrial average had lost 120.5 points to 10,924.74 on Tuesday.
Yesterday, market leader BHP Billiton gave up 77c to $27.33 while fellow resources giant Rio Tinto shed $2.89 to $74.31.
In the energy sector, Origin Energy put on 11c to $6.95 after scrapping a planned merger with its NZ subsidiary Contact Energy.
Woodside was down 20c at $4.80, Oil Search off 13c at $3.80 and Santos down 3c at $11.42. Mauritanian partner Hardman's climb back to grace was interrupted; it fell 4c to $1.655.
AGL fell 18c to $17.82 after sticking to its forecast of a $408 million net profit for 2005-06.
The big banks were mixed. ANZ slipped 27c to $25.93 and the Commonwealth eased 27c to $43.29. NAB and Westpac were steady at $34.39 and $22.45.
Investment house Macquarie Bank shed $1.21 to $68.05. The Macquarie-led consortium planning a tilt at Hong Kong telecom PCCW could hand over the digital media assets to News Corp, according to market speculation.
News Corp shares fell 25c to $26.60, while its non-voters fell the same amount to $25.25.
Among other media stocks, PBL gained 6c to $17.45 while Fairfax fell 1c to $3.60.
Seven Network improved 2c to $7.99 after unveiling plans to move production to new $120 million studios in Redfern.
Telco Telstra edged up 2c to $3.69 while Optus owner SingTel held steady at $2.13.
Qantas dipped 3c to $2.93 while Virgin Blue hovered at $1.55.
Diversified manufacturer GUD Holdings shed 8c to $7.90 while rival GWA was down 6c at $3.08.
The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US582.75, down $US7.50 on Tuesday's close.
The gold miners were also lower. Newcrest dropped 45c to $19.65 and Newmont shrank 8c to $6.75. Lihir Gold was down 13c at $2.69.
The top traded stock by volume was petroleum and gas explorer Empire Oil & Gas, with 37.18 million shares valued at $221,090 changing hands. Empire shares lost 0.1c to 0.5c.
Turnover on the market was 1.07 billion shares worth $3.78 billion, and 648 stocks fell, 451 stocks rose and 393 were unchanged yesterday.

Bourse's early storm peters out

The stockmarket closed higher yesterday, storming ahead early after a positive lead from US markets and higher prices for base metals overnight, but fading in later trading.
The major banks, big miners and energy stocks strengthened.
"It was an explosive start but it seems to have calmed down quite a bit in the afternoon session," CMC Markets market analyst David Land said.
However, the market had been unable to sustain the momentum as investors were still feeling tentative about moving money back into the market following recent "shaky" times.
The ASX 200 gained 34.2 points to 4999.2 while the All Ordinaries rose 31.8 to 4958.0.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract closed day trading 14 points higher at 4980, still 18 points behind the physical, on a volume of 11,232.
Among the major banks, the NAB climbed 3c to $34.39, the Commonwealth lifted 36c to $43.56, the ANZ firmed 15c to $26.20, and Westpac added 9c to $22.45.
In the resources sector, BHP Billiton rose 36c to $28.10.
Rio Tinto added 30c to $77.20 after it and a company owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi agreed to undertake studies on the construction of a major aluminium smelter in the United Arab Emirates.
Newcomer Gladiator Resources finished 5.5c lower than its issue price, at 14.5c, upon its debut on the ASX.
Oil and gas producer Woodside jumped 99c to $43, Santos was up 9c to $11.45, as was Oil Search at $3.98.
Roc Oil lifted 10c to $3.90 after it acquired 24.5 per cent of an offshore Chinese petroleum province for $354 million.
In the gold sector, Newcrest climbed 30c to $20.10, and Lihir added 8c to $2.82. AngloGold Ashanti was up 20c at $12.
The price of gold in Sydney was $US590.25 per fine ounce, up $US5.90 on Monday's close.
News Corp eased 3c to $26.85 while its non-voting stock gained 6c to $25.50.
Publishing and Broadcasting slipped 2c to $17.39.
Telstra inched up 1c to $3.67 and was the top traded stock by volume, with 35.02 million shares worth $128.7 million changing hands.
Telecom Corp of New Zealand sagged 2c to $3.39 as it said it would create separate, independent wholesale and retail operations.
Coles Myer improved 4c to $11.43, and supermarket rival Woolworths rose 1c to $19.60.
Gas pipeline operator GasNet fell 4c to $2.55 after directors rejected a $371.7 million takeover bid from Babcock & Brown Infrastructure and Australian Pipeline Trust.
Babcock & Brown Infrastructure was off 1c at $1.57 and Australian Pipeline Trust dipped 2c to $4.34.

Buyers idle, awaiting interest rate moves

The sharemarket closed flat ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting and the end of financial year later this week.
The ASX 200 index finished up just 0.1 points at 4965 and the All Ordinaries rose 0.4 to 4926.2
The one bright spot was steel producer Smorgon. Shares in the company bounded after the announcement of a $1.6 billion friendly takeover offer from OneSteel.
Smorgon shares soared 43c, or 32 per cent, to $1.77, while OneSteel firmed 14c or 3.5 per cent, to $4.09.
Patersons Securities client adviser Steve Morris said the US interest rate decision later this week was weighing on trading.
"The market is expecting interest rates to be increased but it is the commentary that goes with it that is the focus," he said.
"Also, you've got the end of the financial year at the end of the week and options expiry on Thursday night."
BHP Billiton rose 16c to $27.74 while Rio Tinto added 30c to $79.60. BHP lifted its stake in Canadian nickel producer Skye Resources through the purchase of 2 million common shares.
In the banks, NAB lost 30c $34.36, Westpac fell 11c to $22.36 and the Commonwealth slipped 20c to $43.20. Bendigo Bank dipped 4c to $12.77. ANZ rose 9c to $26.05 and Macquarie Bank firmed $1.18 to $68.90.
The Macquarie consortium's bid for UK port operator Associated British Ports is in doubt after a rival consortium led by Goldman Sachs lifted its offer.
Among other blue-chip stocks, Telstra fell 2c to $3.66 and Qantas eased 4c to $2.94.
Multiplex was down 13c to $3.30 after selling its Goldfields House in Sydney to Valad Property Group for $274.1 million. The developer plans to use the money to cut its debt.
Among the gold stocks, Newcrest rose 10c to $19.80 and Newmont added 8c to $6.83.

Up two days in a row. Is it a trend?

The sharemarket closed higher for the second day in a row as a strong US lead helped blue-chip stocks make back some of the ground lost in the recent sell-off.
The ASX 200 broke back through the 5000-point barrier, shooting up 91.9 points, or 1.9 per cent, to 5010.8, while the All Ordinaries index climbed 83.7 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 4968.1.
Aequs Securities institutional dealer Ric Klusman said most of the buying had been in the big mining and banking stocks which had been sold down over the past month.
"There have been a lot of buy orders but only in the top 20 stocks, everything else seems to have been left alone," he said.
Trading was boosted by a bullish performance on Wednesday on Wall Street, where some solid earnings figures helped reassure investors about corporate profit growth. The Dow Jones was up 104.62 points to 11,079.46
An increase in commodity prices helped catapult the big mining stocks higher with BHP Billiton rising $1.02 to $28, Rio Tinto jumping $2.50 to $77.75 and Zinifex up 26c to $9.43.
The banks also put in a storming performance with ANZ surging 85c to $26.25, the Commonwealth soaring $1.20 to $43.29, NAB rising 81c to $34.81 and Westpac climbing 46c to $22.51.
News Corp fell 65c to $26.75 and the non-voters slipped 45c to $25.41 as the global media group appointed Spain's former prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, to its board of directors.
PBL rose 34c to $17.90, Ten jumped 9c to $2.90, Seven rose 7c to $8.25 and John Fairfax was steady at $3.70.
Tattersall's fell 2c to $2.81 as the gambling firm said it was sticking with its proposed merger with UNiTAB, which climbed 15c to $14.95 as rival bidder Tabcorp rose 13c to $15.13.
Qantas fell 3c to $3 as the market digested the profit downgrade issued by the airline on Wednesday.
The airline said it would receive compensation from French manufacturer Airbus for the late delivery of 12 A380 planes.
Mayne Pharma rose 8c to $2.60 after it said it had acquired the North American rights to a leukaemia treatment and a medical surface cleaner for a maximum of $US34 million ($46 million).
Retail Food Group, which owns Donut King's Australian operations, had a subdued debut, opening at 96c, down on the $1 issue price, and closing at 91.5c. The franchisor said it was on the acquisition trail in an industry it said was due for consolidation.
Asian investors Affinity Equity Partners has taken a major stake in Colorado Group, prompting speculation of a takeover and pushing the clothing retailer's shares up 49c to $4.29.
Other retailers were stronger, with Woolworths up 46c to $19.44 while Coles Myer climbed 6c to $11.48. Miller's Retail was up 1c at $1.53.
Telstra rose a whole 1c to $3.70 after it released three new homeline pricing plans as part of its new fixed-line strategy.
Newcrest Mining leapt $1 to $20.10, PNG miner Lihir Gold rose 8c to $2.83 and Thai-focused miner Kingsgate Consolidated grew 17c to $4.67.
The top traded stock by volume was Lion Energy with 41.30 million shares worth $208,490 changing hands. The price closed unchanged at 0.5c.

Miners lead bourse to firmer ground

The Australian stockmarket shrugged off a mixed lead from overseas to close firmly higher with big mining and banking stocks leading the charge.
The local market had performed well with little direction from overseas, Ausbil Dexia equities director Paul Xiradis said.
"We saw a good bounce back in a lot of the stocks that have been pretty weak of late.
"[Tuesday] was weak for no real reason so there was a bit of catch-up from that unwarranted weakness, but even so the market put in a pretty good performance."
The ASX200 closed up 57.5 points at 4918.9 and the All Ordinaries climbed 53.6 points to 4884.4.
The September share price index contract finished 32 points higher at 4894 on the Sydney Futures Exchange, on volume of 13,695.
The big miners got a boost after winning a 19 per cent price rise for the iron ore they sell to China. BHP Billiton raced up 82c to $26.98 while Rio Tinto rose $1.80 to $75.25.
The big banks moved ahead, with National Australia Bank rising 67c to $34.00, Commonwealth Bank up 69c to $42.09, Westpac climbing 20c to $22.05 and ANZ up 11c to $25.40.
Among media stocks, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp rose 35c to $27.40 and the non-voting stock put on 36c to $25.86.
Seven Network shot up 33c to $8.18 after saying it had sold its interests in Melbourne's Telstra Dome for about $330 million.
Ten Network lost 3c to $2.81 after saying third-quarter earnings would be cut in half.
Qantas dived 15c to $3.03 after saying profits would fall by more than a quarter in 2005-06 as its fuel bill rose.
Village Roadshow eased 1c to $2.38 as it paid out $33.5 million to dispose of its remaining British cinema interests.
Retailer Woolworths climbed 26c to $18.98 while rival Coles Myer rose 6c to $11.42.
Oil and gas stocks were stronger with Santos up 29c to $11.44 and Woodside rising 39c to $41.34.
CSL was up 87c to $50.90 as the blood products and vaccine maker reaffirmed its 2005-06 earnings guidance.
The spot price of gold in Sydney climbed $US6.20 from the previous night's close to be $US578.00 per fine ounce.
Gold stocks rose, with Newcrest Mining gaining 30c to $19.10, Lihir Gold piling on 8c to reach $2.75 and Kingsgate Consolidated up 10c to $4.50.
The top traded stock was IC2 Global, with 79.5 million shares worth $158,600 changing hands. Its share price was steady at 0.2c.
Market turnover was 1.04 billion shares worth $3.81 billion: 572 stocks rose, 525 fell and 357 were unchanged.

Commodities soften, US fails to give a lead

The Australian sharemarket finished lower yesterday with the big miners leading the way down as metal prices fell.
The benchmark ASX200 dropped 39.8 points to 4861.4 while the All Ordinaries slipped 39.1 to 4830.8.
At the close of day trading on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index pulled back by three points to 4862, bang on the physical, on a volume of 21,443 contracts.
Macquarie Equities client adviser David Halliday said it was inevitable the market would struggle given the softer commodity prices and a weak lead from US markets.
"It was always going to be a tough day for the market to be up when commodity prices were down again overnight and, obviously, resource stocks are such a barometer for sentiment and the rest of the market," he said. "When they started down it was always going to be a day in the red."
The US markets provided a slack lead, with the major indices all falling on renewed fears of inflation and higher interest rates. In New York, the Standard & Poor's 500 index had given up 11.40 to finish at 1240.14, the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 72.44 to 10,942.11 and the Nasdaq Composite index shuffled back 19.53 points to close at 2110.42.
On the local bourse, the miners stepped back, with BHP Billiton losing 64c to $26.16 and Rio Tinto slipping $1.35 to $73.45.
Woodside Petroleum fell 97c to $40.95 after revising annual production targets down by 5 per cent.
Other oil stocks were mixed with Oil Search gaining 4c to $3.86 while Santos nudged 1c lower to $11.15. Beach was down 6.5c at $1.215 and Hardman down 7c at $1.53.
The big banks backtracked with the ANZ down 10c at $25.29, the Commonwealth down 60c to $41.40, National Australia Bank 69c to $33.33 and Westpac 4c to $21.85.
Other financial stocks lacked direction with Macquarie Bank steady at $65.05 and St George dropping 4c to $28.06.
Retailer OrotonGroup lost 12c to $1.64 after on Monday night flagging a fall in underlying earnings for the year amid tough trading conditions.
Furniture retailer Nick Scali also struggled, losing 20c to $1.25 following yesterday's warning of difficult trading conditions, forecasting similar profits to last year.
Coles Myer pulled back by 12c to $11.36. Woolworths picked up 5c to $18.72.
Media was mixed, with Fairfax dropping 4c to $3.65 and PBL 28c to $17.35. News Corp gained 18c to $27.05; its non-voting shares rose 5c to $25.50.
The spot price of gold shifted slightly higher, up US90c on yesterday's local close of $US571.80 an ounce.
The goldminers also retreated, with Newcrest dipping 47c to $18.80, Newmont losing 19c to $6.61 and Lihir Gold shedding 7c to close at $2.67.
Telstra shares gave up 5c to $3.64 and were the most traded stock on the market.
More than 46.0 million shares were traded worth a total of $168 million.
Market turnover reached 997.07 million, collectively worth $4.29 billion; 382 stocks rose, 716 fell and 312 unchanged.

Buyers back off and down she goes

The sharemarket closed lower yesterday, dragged down by softer commodity prices, weakness among resources stocks and continuing concerns about interest rate rises in the US.
The ASX 200 index slipped 67.8 points or 1.4 per cent to 4901.2 while the All Ordinaries was down 62.3 at 4869.9.
Macquarie Equities adviser Helen Spencer said softer commodity prices and a benign lead from Wall Street combined to weigh on the domestic market.
"The resources in particular seem to have had a bit of a stumble this afternoon," Ms Spencer said. "After a fairly strong rally on Friday we are giving up some of those gains, with profit-taking setting in and nerves about potential interest rate rises in the US still apparent here, with the resources all leading the market lower.
BHP Billiton was down 63c at $26.80, Rio Tinto fell $2.10 to $74.80 and Alumina retreated 22c to $6.28. Woodside Petroleum was 72c lower at $41.92 and Santos fell 29c to $11.16.
Woodside said it was reviewing its 2006 production target after flagging timetable changes at some of its new fields.
There was no let-up for the big banks, the Commonwealth shed 45c to $42, ANZ 23c to $25.19, NAB 43c to $34.02 and Westpac eased 12c to $21.89.
Brambles Industries was steady at $10.68 after it sold its Australian and New Zealand waste management business Cleanaway, and its Australian industrial services division, for $1.83 billion.
Investment fund Babcock & Brown Infrastructure fell 1c to $1.64 as it and gas infrastructure group Australian Pipeline Trust launched a $371.7 million takeover bid for Victorian gas transmission operator GasNet.
Australian Pipeline climbed 9c to $4.33 and GasNet rose 23c to $2.62 after having its credit rating put under review.
Macquarie Infrastructure Group fell 9c to $3.49; it is planning to spin off its Eastern Distributor, M5 and M4 roadways through a public float.
Furniture retailer Nick Scali said it expected its annual net profit for 2005-06 to be in line with last year's result after announcing that the difficult retail environment had pulled down sales. Its shares fell 1c to $1.45.
Catalyst Recruitment Systems downgraded its annual profit forecast after losing its biggest client. Yet the stock rose 6c to 67c.
Putative explorer Newera Uranium debuted at a 6c premium to its 20c issue price after an oversubscribed $3 million public offering. It closed at 23c.
The money from the float will be used to explore projects in Western Australia and the NT, which Newera acquired from Cazaly Resources.
Shares in Trafford Resources began trading at the 20c issue price and closed at 17.5c.
Telstra slid 3c to $3.69 while its rival, Optus parent Singapore Telecom, fell 3c to $2.12.
David Jones slipped 1c to $2.90, Woolworths 16c to $18.67 and Coles Myer 23c to $11.48.
OrotonGroup, down 3c to $1.76, said it expected to deliver an annual net profit of $2 million to $3 million.
Among the goldminers, Newcrest dropped 56c to $19.27, and Newmont fell 8c to $6.80.

Days of easy money are over

The sharemarket's roller-coaster ride is set to continue until October as analysts warn investors that the easy gains from stocks are over.
Shares rallied almost 4.5 per cent in less than three days from an intra-day low last Wednesday as investors eager for a bargain returned en masse.
But a Goldman Sachs JBWere analyst, Richard Coppleson, said the "easy money" that had been made in the three days last week would not continue. The market was entering a "trading pattern" which would favour active traders.
"The days of 'go long and forget' have now passed for the next four months and those who excel will be the ones who recognise this change early and start trading their positions," Mr Coppleson said in a research note on Friday.
BHP Billiton posted its biggest gain in almost four years on Friday to close up 5.5 per cent, or $1.43, at $27.43. Earlier, the miner had fallen more than 21 per cent between a record on May 11 and a low last Tuesday.
The company's chairman, Don Argus, was one investor who joined the rush for a perceived bargain last week when he boosted his stake in BHP Billiton by 38,200 shares at a total cost of almost $1 million.
Last week was one of the most volatile in years as the market went from posting its biggest-one day fall since the aftermath of September 11, 2001, to three days later recording its largest gain in more than three years.
"The market is still very unsure and as a result it will not be easy trading over the next few months," Mr Coppleson said.
AMP Capital Investors' head of investment strategy and chief economist, Shane Oliver, said many investors would have missed the easy gains last week because the market's fall and subsequent recovery had been so dramatic.
"It's likely to be a fairly rough ride over the next few months. It won't be nearly as easy as the gains we have have seen from last Wednesday," he said yesterday.
"It's going to be more of a traders' market … so the buy-and-hold approach won't work as well as it has over the last couple of years."
Dr Oliver said the concerns about global inflation would dissipate following a likely rise in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve at the end of this month.
However, he believed investors would face a "growth scare" in the third quarter because of both a reduction in growth in the US economy due to a slowdown in the housing sector and monetary tightening in China.
"It will take the edge off global growth to some degree and that will slow down the rates of return [from markets]," he said. "We expect some abatement of US inflation fears but you might have … another rough period from July to October."
Historically, September and October are some of the weakest months for markets. Since the turmoil in equities caused by inflationary concerns began, the Australian market has fared worse than those in the US, falling about 8 per cent and 12 per cent respectively from highs in early May to lows last week. European stocks fell about 14 per cent over the same period.
Despite the volatility, Dr Oliver said he still expected equities to be trading at record highs by the end of the year.

Bourse jumps 2%

Investors piled back into the sharemarket en masse on Friday after a rally on Wall Street and a rise in metal prices spurred on resource companies - pushing stocks to their biggest one-day gain in more than three years.
Since Tuesday, when the market had its biggest single-day fall since the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the market has overcome the panic selling to surge 2.7 per cent.
Despite the bounce in the market, brokers and fund managers warn the volatility in equities here and overseas could last until October because of continued uncertainty over global interest rates.
The benchmark ASX 200 index rose 99.3 points to 4969 on Friday, or just over 2 per cent. For the week the index was up 3 points over the four trading days. The broader All Ordinaries rose 96.7 points to 4932.2 on the day and 5.4 points over the week.
The market has priced in an interest rate rise in the US at the end of the month as the Federal Reserve takes a combative approach to inflation but uncertainty remains over whether the central bank will act again this year.
The heavyweight miners led the charge on Friday as investors eyed buying opportunities. Prices for major metals, including zinc and copper, had earlier risen up to 6 per cent in London.
BHP Billiton posted its biggest one-day rise in almost four years, soaring 5.5 per cent, or $1.43, to $27.43, and up 2.6 per cent over the week. Rio Tinto jumped almost 5 per cent, or $3.53, to $76.90 on Friday, up more than 4 per cent over the week.
Other resource companies were among the biggest winners of the week, including Hardman Resources, which rose about 11 per cent over the four trading days. The stock closed up 12c at $1.66 on Friday.
Shaw Stockbroking's head dealer, Jamie Spiteri, said the recovery on Friday mirrored rises on Wall Street and in Europe, where Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX both rose more than 2 per cent.
"It's a significant move here but not at all surprising," he said. "There is a lot more of a wary optimism in the market despite the fact it's … recovered over the last two days."
Wall Street's blue-chip index, the Dow Jones, rose almost 200 points on Thursday night after reassurances about inflation from the Federal Reserve's chairman, Ben Bernanke.
Other Asian markets outperformed the local indices on Friday. Japan's Nikkei index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both soared more than 2.5 per cent.
Mr Spiteri said the local market's rebound had been "exceptionally sharp" because of the huge amounts of cash in the hands of fund managers, who had been waiting for a pullback in equities.
"It's unique times - the weight of money directed towards … the Australian market is at record highs," he said.
Although some investors have anticipated the end of the correction, Wallace Funds Management's portfolio manager Michael Birch said volatility was set to continue for the next few months because of the uncertainty over global interest rates.
"From a retail point of view, there are plenty of people with cash who are happy to buy on the dips," he said. "If you are just buying back on the dip, as a long-term holder you are probably doing pretty well."
AMP Capital Investors' head of investment strategy and chief economist, Shane Oliver, said the worst might be over for the equities market but he expected further volatility until October.
"It will take a while for current inflation, interest rate and growth fears to fade completely and for investors to fully regain their confidence," he said.

It's a struggle but shares are going up

The sharemarket continued to claw back territory yesterday, after a week of heavy losses.
The market was supported by resources and energy stocks following gains in base metal and oil prices overnight, despite weakness in the banking sector amid fears of further interest rate rises in the US.
The ASX 200 rose 18.9 points to 4869.7 while the All Ordinaries rose 20.5 to 4835.5.
The gains followed a rise on Wall Street on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index rising 110.78 points to 10,816.92 despite a report showing higher than expected inflation in May.
Macquarie Equities associate director Lucinda Chan said the local bourse was stronger across the board amid bargain hunting after the recent sharp falls.
However, resources and energy stocks had led the rally, she added.
"Oil prices being firmer has certainly helped the oil sector and gold is trading a little bit better which has helped gold stocks, especially Newcrest and Newmont," she said.
BHP Billiton firmed 38c to $26 while Rio Tinto rose 22c to $73.37. Woodside Petroleum was up 5c to $40.83.
Mining services provider Ausenco ended its first day of trading at a hefty premium to its $1 issue price, closing at $1.55.
DWS Advanced Business Solutions made a low-key debut. The information technology consultancy's shares opened at $1.02, a small premium to the $1 issue price, and closed at $1.01.
The big banks were generally lower. ANZ and the Commonwealth eased 30c to $25.25 and $42 respectively, Westpac fell 15c to $21.75 but NAB added 5c to $33.95.
IAG, down 6c to $5.38, has acquired a newly formed Lloyd's managing agency and specialist Asian syndicate to support its expanding business in Asia.
Foster's rose 2c to $5.51. The alcoholic beverages group has sold its Shanghai brewing business and local Chinese beer brands to Suntory for an undisclosed amount.
Telstra edged up 2c to $3.73 while Optus owner Singapore Telecom rose 1c to $2.05.
Qantas advanced 9c to $3.27 while budget airline Virgin Blue rose 3c to $1.61.
Retailer Coles Myer found 14c to hit $11.51 but Woolworths shed 10c to $18.58.
Clothing manufacturer Colorado rose 1c to $3.31. Group chief operating officer and acting chief executive Eddie MacDonald has resigned, effective September 15.
Among the goldminers, Newcrest jumped almost 6 per cent, or $1.05, to $19.25 and Newmont shot up 4 per cent, or 27c, to $6.70. Lihir was up 12c at $2.67 and Bendigo up 3c to $1.75.
The most traded stock was oil and gas explorer Lion Energy with 65.48 million shares worth $327,634 changing hands. The stock moved up 0.1c to 0.6c.

Buyers in at the start, picking up 'bargains'

The stockmarket staged a minor recovery yesterday, with the big resource companies leading the rebound from Tuesday's big fall.

The market opened sharply weaker - 24.5 points below Tuesday's close, which itself was down 27.1 points - following another night of extreme volatility, but mostly down, on US markets.

But buyers were in the local market almost from the start and kicked the ASX200 index up to a peak of 4877.4 just after lunch.

It finished 11.9 above the line at 4850.8.

The All Ordinaries was up 7.8 to 4815 points at the close.

European markets were wobbly in early trading last night but settled into a slightly positive sideways pattern.

At the close of trading on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the June share price contract had moved up 50 to 4875 points, 24.2 points up on the physical, on a big volume of 87,928 contracts - the contract expires today.

Intersuisse director of equities Andrew Sekely said the turnaround would be good news to investors disheartened by last week's miserable performance.

"In response to what happened overseas, the market initially fell very heavily, but we've seen - from its lowest point - a turnaround of just over 100 points," Mr Sekely said.

"It is obviously nice to see and should give a little bit of confidence back to investors who'd been hit around the head a bit earlier in the week."

More volatility was likely, though, Mr Sekely said.

"The market is volatile and even though we've had this 100 point turnaround we could easily see the market fall again tomorrow," he said.

The big miners led the rebound, with BHP Billiton finishing 37c higher at $25.62 while Rio Tinto piled on $2.15 to $73.05.

Oil prices fell overnight Tusdsay but energy stocks were mostly stronger with Woodside putting on 66c to $40.78 and Santos was up 11c at $10.86. Oil Search, though, fell 5c to $3.83.

The big banks were slightly lower with NAB dropping 5c to $33.90, Westpac 10c to $21.90 and ANZ 10c to $25.55. The Commonwealth was up 8c at $42.30.

Other financial stocks were mixed with Macquarie Bank up $2 to $63 and St George dipping 87c to $28.14.

Shares in the Australian Stock Exchange added $1.40 to $30.90 and SFE Corp rallied by 22c to $15.75 after the $5.3 billion merger between the two companies moved ahead with the announcement that SFE boss Robert Elstone would head the new entity.

Retailer Woolworths lost 7c to $18.68 after selling its distribution centres for $846 million.

Other retailers were also lower, with Coles Myer dipping 7c lower to $11.37 and Harvey Norman 2c weaker at $3.98.

Media stocks lacked direction with PBL up 12c to $17.92, Fairfax down 1c to $3.75 and News Corp softer by 18c to $26 while its non-voters were up 1c to $24.94.

After the spot price of gold collapsed overnight the domestic price finished the day's trading at $US559.00 an ounce, down $US34.45 from Tuesday's local close.

Yet goldminers were mixed, with Lihir picking up 3c to $2.55, Newcrest lifting 20c to $18.20 but Newmont fell 7c to $6.43 and Bendigo was down 10c at $1.72. AngloGold AShanti was down 16c at $10.50.

The most traded stock was Lion Energy with 145 million shares worth a total of $690,000 traded.

Shares in Lion moved up 0.02c to 0.5c.

Hedge funds blamed for market slump

The sharemarket fell more than 2.5 per cent as investors wiped another $25 billion off its value in the biggest one-day fall in almost five years.
BHP Billiton alone accounted for $5 billion of the losses.
The ASX 200 fell 127.1 points, or 2.56 per cent, to 4838.9 while the All Ordinaries fell 119.6 points, or 2.43 per cent, to 4807.2.
Aequs Securities institutional dealer Ric Klusman said global hedge funds playing in the commodity market had been hit and were dumping their investments.
"Unfortunately, they're taking us with them," Mr Klusman said.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the June share price index contract fell 107 points to 4834. CMC Markets senior dealer Phil Martin said the intensity of the selling surprised a lot of investors.
"There is certainly the hope that there will be some respite from the selling but we aren't seeing a lot of it at the moment," Mr Martin said.
Mr Klusman said investors would monitor data coming out of the US in the next few days, including inflation figures.
"There could be a big rally or another big fall depending on the results," Mr Klusman said.
The sharemarket's initial decline was triggered by a fall in the US overnight, where the Dow Jones lost 99.34 points to 10,792.58.
It was the second time in less than a week that about $25 billion had been slashed from the market's value.
The benchmark index lost 2.35 per cent last Thursday, until yesterday the biggest fall since September 17, 2001, when the market lost 4.69 per cent following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
BHP fell $1.48, or 5.5 per cent, to $25.25 and Rio Tinto fell $2.87 to $70.90. BHP announced just before the closing bell that it was forming an alliance with Russia's biggest miner, MMC Norilsk Nickel, to carry out exploration and develop mining projects in the Russian Federation.
Oil and gas producer Woodside fell $1.22 to $40.12.
Banks were caught up in the sell-off. ANZ fell 65c, or 2.5 per cent, to $25.65, NAB 85c to $33.95, the Commonwealth Bank to $42.22 and Westpac 45c to $22.
Woolworths was one of the few winners on the day, rising 9c to $18.75, while David Jones added 5c to $2.93.
Coles Myer fell 15c to $11.44.
In the media sector, News Corp fell 54c to $26.18 and its non-voting scrip was down 49c to $24.93. Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd fell 36c to $17.80 while Fairfax fell 6c to $3.76.
Telstra eased 3c to $3.72, while Optus-parent Singapore Telecommunications also fell 3c to $2.03.
ABC Learning Centres, which said its takeover of Kids Campus would proceed following a strong flow of acceptances, fell 37c to $6.36.
Among the gold stocks, Newcrest fell 84c to $18 and Newmont fell 13c to $6.50.

Market heads back into black

Investors breathed a sigh of relief as the sharemarket recovered slightly on Friday from the biggest one-day fall in almost five years - although brokers warn the correction has still to run its course due to ongoing jitters about inflation.
Thursday's was the biggest single-day slump since the turmoil following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, as investors panicked about rising global interest rates.
The rout in Asian markets extended to Europe, where Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX both slumped more than 2.5 per cent. Fortunately, Wall Street weathered the storm overnight on Thursday to finish in the black.
In Australia, the benchmark ASX 200 index rose 58.8 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 4966 on Friday, but slumped 111.2 points, or 2.2 per cent, over the five trading days, making for the second worst weekly fall in eight months.
The broader All Ordinaries rose 48.3 points to 4926.8 on the day, but fell 113.6 points over the week.
Investors are nervously awaiting the outcome of a meeting of the US Federal Reserve at the end of the month, when the Fed will decide whether to raise interest rates for the 17th consecutive time.
Nomura Australia market strategist Eric Betts said the market recovered on Friday as investors took the view that the previous day's sell-off was excessive.
Traditionally, big sell-offs like Thursday's present buying opportunities for investors.
"This is the calm after the storm," he said. "It's gone from manic to panic in the space of a few weeks. It was just a case of people buying anything that wasn't nailed down."
Resources bore the brunt of the sell-off as base metals continued to slide. Heavyweight miner BHP Billiton slumped 6 per cent over the week, but was up 18c to $26.73 on Friday. Rio Tinto fell almost 7 per cent over the five days, but rose 5c to $73.77 on Friday.
The concerns about global inflation have led brokers to conclude that the correction has not ended. Since reaching a record on May 11, the market has fallen 7.4 per cent.
"We've seen evidence of investors moving back into the market, but I don't think people are of the opinion that we have reached the bottom yet," said ABN Amro's head of Sydney sales trading, Justin Gallagher.
"The risks that have moved the market to these levels still exist, and as a result we are likely to see further downside in the short term."
AMP Capital Investors' head of investment strategy and chief economist, Shane Oliver, said strong readings for retail sales, growth in gross domestic product and employment had increased the risks of another interest rate rise here, although he believed the Reserve Bank was unlikely to raise them again this year.
Dr Oliver said investors should expect the rough ride in equities markets to continue and for it to get "a little worse before it gets better". But he said the falls did not signal the start of a bear market.

Market follows US down slippery slope

The sharemarket fell more than 2 per cent - its biggest one-day fall since September 2001 - after heavy falls on global markets.
The ASX 200 fell 118.3 points, or 2.35 per cent, to 4907.2 while the All Ordinaries fell 113.4 points, or 2.27 per cent, to 4878.5. The ASX 200 has fallen 8.5 per cent since its record high on May 11.
The Dow Jones index fell below 11,000 points amid concerns about the US economy and higher interest rates.
Shaw Stockbroking dealer Jamie Spiteri said the market had shown no resistance to falling below the psychological 5000-points barrier.
"The weakness in the market has been more and more evident as the day has gone on," he said. "Anticipated weakness in other major markets has contributed to a further free fall here this afternoon."
Mining stocks were hit hard. BHP Billiton fell $1.30, or 4.67 per cent, to $26.55, despite announcing it would go ahead with an oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico.
Rio Tinto fell $3.50, or 4.53 per cent, to $73.72, Zinifex fell 77c, or 7 per cent, to $10.13 and Alumina fell 19c to $6.57.
Banks were also lower. NAB fell 98c to $33.87, ANZ 62c to $25.63, Westpac 35c to $21.95 and CBA 97c to $42.10.
PBL fell 59c to $17.85, John Fairfax fell 1c to $3.77 and the Seven Network fell 20c to $8.29.
Wridgways Australia rose 17.5c, or 14.9 per cent, to $1.35. The removalist expects to report a 45 per cent leap in net profit this year.
Coalmine engineer Sedgman opened at $1.40, 40c above its issue price, after an oversubscribed $40 million capital raising. It closed at $1.30.
Telstra slipped 7c to $3.73.
Among gold stocks, Newcrest Mining fell 73c to $19.65 and Lihir Gold fell 20c to $2.85.

Phew, what a day of ups and downs

The stockmarket closed slightly lower yesterday after a stirring battle between bulls and bears took the market on a yo-yo ride in which the All Ords hit a low of 4973 during the lunch break.
More speculation about a cooling of the US economy seemed to make investors nervous.
ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Simon Ferguson said the local bourse was watching the overseas markets closely.
"There's not a lot of local company news to drive our market, so we're following the US sentiment, which is uncertain at the moment," Mr Ferguson said.
He said figures published yesterday showing the Australian economy gathering momentum in the March quarter had not had much influence.
But the local market was holding up quite well and investors were still fairly confident about the mining sector.
The ASX200 closed 10.6 points lower at 5025.5 while the All Ordinaries was down 12.6 points at 4991.9.
At the end of day trading on the Sydney Futures Exchange the June share price index contract had retreated 12 points to 5029, on a volume of 26,136.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton shed 17c to $27.85, and Rio Tinto fell 28c to $77.22.
Mt Gibson Iron was 3c lower at 84c as it sold its stake in Asia Iron Holdings for $52.5 million to a Chinese steel maker.
Oil and gas producer Woodside retreated $1.17 to $43.15 and Santos backtracked 34c to $11.24.
Oil and gas developer Anzon rose 5.5c to $1.38 as it said it was happy to end up as the largest shareholder of Nexus Energy, despite having to abandon its takeover bid. Nexus was 4c richer at 68c.
The major banks were mixed. The NAB was steady at $34.85, Westpac up 1c at $22.30, the ANZ eased 6c to $26.25 and the Commonwealth shed 5c to $43.07.
In the golds, Newcrest rose 47c to $20.38 and Lihir firmed 4c to $3.05 but Newmont sagged 12c to $6.95.
Monarch Resources was up 1.5c at 29c. It said an early commissioning of its West Australian gold projects would accelerate the company into the ranks of mid-tier gold miners.
Among the newcomers, Rey Resources gained 1c to close at 17c and Icon Resources was steady at 21c.
The price of gold in Sydney was $US623.05 per ounce, down $US15.20 on Tuesday's close.
In media, News Corp was up 4c to $27.00 while its non-voters put on 15c to $25.80. PBL reversed 47c to $18.44 and Fairfax advanced 8c to $3.78.
Seven Network rose 4c to $8.49 after it and Global Television, in which both Ten and PBL hold 24 per cent, signed a joint-venture deal to provide production services to the television industry. Global Television climbed 5c to 80c.
Ten was down 1c to $2.99.
Retailer Coles Myer was steady at $11.65 and rival Woolworths gained 11c to $18.81.
The top traded stock by volume was IT provider Multiemedia, with 33.9 million shares worth $274,0000 changing hands. Multiemedia was up 0.1c to 0.9c.
National turnover was 1.04 billion shares worth $4.36 billion, with 620 stocks down, 447 up and 359 unchanged.

Down she goes: another session right on trend

The sharemarket fell again yesterday, unnerved by the possibility of rising interest rates in the United States and a flattening of metal prices.
A dark day on the local market was expected after a big fall in the US indices overnight.
"A lot of the big falls recently have been caused by big pullbacks in some of the metal prices and they were off slightly and that didn't help," CMC Markets senior dealer Mr Foulsham said.
"There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment all round and people are really reactive."
The ASX200 fell 83.9 points or 1.6 per cent to 5036.1 points while the All Ordinaries pulled back by 77.6 to 5004.5.
At the end of day trading on the Sydney Futures Exchange the June share price contract was down 94 points to 5041 on a volume of 22,435 contracts.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index dropped 1.1 per cent to 3600.58 at the close in Wellington.
The US market had provided a weak lead after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke signalled inflation had risen to unwelcome levels.
The major indices all closed weaker in the US with the Dow Jones dropping 199.15 points to 11,048.72, the S&P 500 retreating 22.93 to 1265.29 while the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 49.79 points lower to 2169.62.
The softer metals prices pushed the big miners lower with BHP Billiton slipping 83c to $28.02 while Rio Tinto dropped $2.39 to $77.50.
Energy stocks were also depressed with Woodside shedding 93c to $44.32, Oil Search down 4c to $4.26 and Santos dipping 24c lower to $11.58.
The big banks moved into negative territory with the ANZ down 48c to $26.31, the Commonwealth 98c lower at $43.12, NAB down 65c at $34.85 and Westpac fell 16c to $22.29.
Other financial stocks were also hit, with Macquarie Bank losing $1.22 to $65.50 and St George Bank 45c to $29.53.
Investment firm Babcock & Brown moved 10c lower to $20.54 after launching a $175 million new issue for a new residential property fund.
Retail stocks were mixed with Harvey Norman up by 2c to $4.00, Coles Myer also up 2c at $11.65 while Woolworths fell by 20c to $18.70.
Telstra shares moved against the market trend, inching 2c higher to $3.82.
Media stocks were lower with Fairfax dropping 3c to $3.70, PBL 14c to $18.91, News Corp 28c to $26.96 and its non-voters 25c to $25.65.
The spot price of gold tumbled, to $US638.25 per fine ounce, down $US4.50 on Monday's local close.
The goldminers followed the price with Newcrest shrinking by 49c to $19.91, Newmont losing 16c to $7.07 and Lihir shedding 23c to $3.01. Bendigo fell 2c to $2.08 and Bolnisi was down 5c to $2.40
The most traded stock on market was base metal miner Zinifex, down 86c at $10.60 after more than 48.4 million shares were traded, collectively worth $520.3 million.
Market turnover was 1.1 billion shares, worth a total of $4.97 billion, with 305 stocks rising, 787 falling and 348 unchanged.

Oil and metals up, so shares rise too

The sharemarket finished in positive territory, boosted by higher base metal and oil prices.
The ASX 200 was up 42.8 points to 5120 while the All Ordinaries gained 41.7 to 5082.1.
Tony Russell, ABN Amro Morgans Ipswich manager, said higher commodity prices buoyed the market. "We've seen the market close on its highest point, kicking up at the end," he said.
"It's certainly been fuelled by higher commodity prices but is also in anticipation of a stronger opening in the US this evening."
Woodside Petroleum surged $1.60 to $45.25 as world oil prices rose, while Santos rose 17c to $11.82 and Oil Search added 19c to $4.30.
In the gold sector, Newcrest jumped $1.10 to $20.40 even as the company was forced to abandon its production forecast for the Telfer mine after variable ore types again affected operations.
Newmont gained 36c to $7.23 while Lihir lifted 28c to $3.24.
BHP Billiton was up 37c to $28.85 and Rio Tinto put on 69c to $79.89.
The Commonwealth Bank was steady at $44.10 as it confirmed its asset management business was part of a Goldman Sachs-led consortium considering a possible offer for Britain's BAA, the world's largest airport operator.
NAB rose 10c to $35.50, Westpac was steady at $22.45 and ANZ added 13c to $26.79.
ETrade Australia rose 15c to $2.68 after agreeing to acquire HSBC Stockbroking (Australia) from HSBC for $51.3 million.
Shares in junior explorer and miner Rey Resources began trading on the ASX at a 5c discount to the issue price of 25c and closed at 16.5c.
Managing director Bruce Preston said Rey's tough introduction to life as a public company was not a great concern. "It could have been better, but that's the market," he said.
UNiTAB gained 12c to $15.02 as the gaming company knocked back a $1.9 billion takeover offer from Tabcorp.
Tabcorp fell 10c to $15.50 and Tattersall's, which made an earlier merger bid for UNiTAB, lost 2c to $2.96.
Shares in publisher John Fairfax fell 9c to a 21-month low of $3.73 after saying its full-year result would be affected by a soft advertising market.
Fairfax now expects 2005-06 full-year earnings before interest and tax to be between $420 million and $430 million, excluding significant items, in the June 30 year.
Seven Network was steady at $8.50 and Ten fell 2c to $2.98.
Telstra rose 1c to $3.80, while Optus owner Singapore Telecom fell 4c to $2.10.
Drug developer Cytopia has signed a licence and research deal with global pharmaceutical firm Novartis potentially worth more than $274 million. Its shares fell 5.5c to 96.5c
Qantas rose 4c to $3.24. Japan Airlines is preparing to check in to the global oneworld alliance, of which Qantas is a member, helping to boost the network's market share and revenue.
The most actively traded stock by volume was Range Resources with 27.26 million shares worth $817.56 million changing hands. Shares in the uranium miner lost 0.5c to 2.9c.

Market shrugs off sluggish miners

The sharemarket finished in positive territory on Friday after a roller-coaster ride and despite losses in the heavyweight mining sector weighing it down.
The ASX 200 index rose 16.6 points to 5077.2 and the All Ordinaries 14.3 to 5040.4.
CMC Markets senior dealer James Foulsham said the big miners were the main drag on the index. "Metal prices have been swinging around wildly all week," he said.
"A lot of the mid-cap miners which have benefited much from the commodity boom have been having huge price swings over the last couple of weeks.
"There is still so much uncertainty about where commodity prices are heading - that's why we're seeing overreaction to any positive and negative news."
BHP Billiton fell 17c to $28.48, Rio Tinto 36c to $79.20 and Zinifex 50c to $11.40. Woodside was steady at $43.65.
The banking sector offset the miners' losses. CBA rose 22c to $44.10, ANZ 12c to $26.66 and Westpac 5c to $22.45.
ANZ said it had won final government approval to buy 20 per cent of China's Tianjin City Commercial Bank for $US120 million ($161 million).
NAB went ex-dividend, paying out 83c per share, but managed to fall back only 25c to $35.40.
Financial services were also firmer. Axa rose 14c to $6.24, AMP 5c to $9 and QBE 46c to $22.38.
Telstra rose 3c to $3.79 but Optus parent Singapore Telecom slipped 3c to $2.14.
Trading was suspended in troubled West Australian wine maker Evans & Tate pending a company announcement on Tuesday.
Accommodation website Wotif.com bounded from the blocks after listing on the market on Friday, rising $1.32 or 66 per cent to $3.32.
The stock opened trading on the stock exchange at $3.06, up from an initial public offer of $2, and traded as high as $3.40.
But junior explorer Magma Metals opened trading on par with its 20c issue price and closed at 18c.
New oil and gas explorer Advance Energy hit the ASX boards at a 5c premium to its 25c issue price and closed at 29c.
Advance's initial public offering was oversubscribed, raising a total of $6 million.
Upmarket retailer David Jones, which is continuing negotiations with investment bank Deutsche Bank to buy back its flagship Sydney and Melbourne stores, closed steady at $2.80.
Coles Myer, which on Friday divested its Myer department stores to TPG-Newbridge Capital and the Myer family for $1.4 billion, added 7c to $11.56. Woolworths rose 18c to $18.89.
Shares in Westfield rose 29c to $16.77 after strong May sales boosted the US retail sector and bolstered optimism about the consumer picture.
Gold stocks were mixed. Newcrest Mining fell 41c to $19.30, while Lihir Gold rose 13c to $2.96 and Newmont gained 5c to $6.87.
Uranium miner Redport rose 1.5c to 12.5c after announcing an increase in the resource estimate at the Lake Maitland uranium project in WA following an evaluation by an independent consultant.

Investors nervous ahead of US interest rates decision

The sharemarket rallied as resource stocks recovered some of Wednesday's losses.
Dealers said corporate activity helped raise hopes but uncertainty over US interest rates fuelled doubt.
ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Kylie Macdonald said: "It's still very volatile … it seems the US interest rates decision due at the end of the month is at the forefront of everyone's mind."
The ASX 200 index rose 58.9 points to 5060.6, while the All Ordinaries rose 53.8 to 5026.1.
Macquarie Equities adviser Helen Spencer said the market was pushed higher by strength in commodity stocks and overseas markets.
"The market has kicked off the first day of the month on a positive note, making it over the 5000 mark on the All Ordinaries," Ms Spencer said. "It was buoyed by a strong industrial and resource sector on the back of positive offshore leads overnight but the market is still waiting to see how the US fares over the following few weeks."
Rio Tinto rose $1.46 to $79.56, while rival BHP Billiton jumped 42c to $28.65.
Speculation BHP or Rio could make a bid for aluminium group Alcan has resurfaced but analysts said the real target could be the world's biggest producer, Alcoa. Alumina rose 12c to $6.74.
After launching a $1.9 billion takeover bid for rival gaming company UNiTAB, challenging an offer by Tattersall's, Tabcorp rose 37c to $15.59.
UNiTAB rose 16c to $14.76 while Tattersall's fell 8c to $2.89.
The Commonwealth Bank rose 70c to $43.88, ANZ climbed 9c to $26.54 and NAB added 56c to $35.65.
Westpac fell 54c to $22.40.
McGuigan Simeon Wines increased 17c to $2.82 after announcing on Wednesday a $15 million-$20million write-down in the value of its inventory.
Alcoholic beverages company Foster's rose 16c to $5.49 after the company said it was pursuing its appeal rights in a $230 million taxation dispute involving one of its subsidiaries.
Multiplex rose 9c to $3.23 after announcing it had delayed by about a fortnight the date by which it expects to finish most of the work at London's troubled Wembley Stadium.
Multiplex's total losses from Wembley have topped £200 million ($498.75 million).
Telstra added 5c to $3.76, while Optus parent Singapore Telecommunications increased 9c to $2.17.
Among retail stocks, David Jones rose 2c to $2.81, Coles Myer added 12c to $11.49 and Woolworths rose 11c to $18.71.