Miners and builders add grunt to market

The Australian sharemarket closed higher yesterday as major mining stocks rebounded from losses and building stocks strengthened.
ABN Amro Morgans senior client adviser Roger Chandler said stocks in the metals sector had recovered a little yesterday, with global miner BHP Billiton leading the bourse higher.
"There hasn't been a rebound in metals prices, but there has been a rebound in sentiment," he said, adding that good companies had recently been oversold.
The building sector had strengthened on the back of a fall in oil prices, which posed less of a threat to a slowing economy and meant consumers would have more money to spend.
The ASX200 index was 42.8 points higher at 5017.2, while the All Ordinaries was up 39.8 points at 4978.6.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract gained 55 points to 5021, on a volume of 23,196 contracts.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton added 40c to $25.05, and Rio Tinto gained 97c to $68.36.
Macarthur Coal fell 10c to $4.60. It posted a record annual net profit but said next year's result would be significantly lower as revenues fall and costs rise.
Among other resources stocks, oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum rose 78c to $36.65, and Santos rose 19c to $10.62.
In the building sector, Rinker lifted 40c to $12.71, and James Hardie 18c to $6.69.
Among the major banks, the National Australia Bank improved 20c to $36.40, Westpac firmed 5c to $23.33 and the Commonwealth Bank stepped forward 15c to $46.10. ANZ dipped 2c to $27.22.
In the retail sector, Coles Myer added 40c to $14.40, reaching fresh record levels amid continued takeover speculation. Supermarket rival Woolworths shed 26c to $20.33.
Harvey Norman rose 4c to $3.43 as demand for big screen televisions spurred by football's World Cup helped to boost annual earnings.
Grocery wholesaler Metcash dipped 2c to $4.20 as it got behind a push to create a third force in the packaged liquor market, behind Coles Myer and Woolworths.
Clothes retailer Just Group fell 9c to $3.40 despite reporting a 24.6 per cent jump in annual profit and saying trading for the first six weeks of the new year was ahead of last year.
Telco Telstra was 7c better off at $3.60.
News Corp rose 32c to $25.75 while its non-voting stock strengthened 31c to $24.88. Publishing and Broadcasting inched forward 2c to $18.04, and John Fairfax firmed 2c to $3.97.

Weak GDP figures unnerve investors

The sharemarket finished weaker yesterday as softer-than-expected economic growth data sparked fears of a significant economic slowdown.
Shaw Stockbroking research director Scott Marshall said the release of the June quarter gross domestic product struck a blow to market confidence.
"If you were to exclude the resources boom - that is the states of Western Australia and Queensland - the rest of Australia really seems to be struggling and falling fairly quickly," he said.
"Some people may be concerned that there's further falling from this position - it indicates that maintaining a defensive investment strategy is probably the right way to go."
The ASX 200 index closed 36.8 points lower at 5113.8, and the All Ordinaries finished 33 points weaker at 5078.7.
At the close of day trading on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract was down 36 points to 5116, on a volume of 15,944.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said GDP rose 0.3 per cent in the June quarter and 1.9 per cent in the year. This was well below market expectations of 0.7 per cent for the quarter and 2.6 per cent annually.
Market leader BHP Billiton fell 25c to $27.75 and rival miner Rio Tinto gained 15c to $74.80.
The big banks were all softer, with ANZ sliding 27c to $27.09, and Commonwealth Bank down 29c to $45.81, National Australia Bank 30c to $36.20 and Westpac 11c to $23.19. St George Bank was 30c lower at $29.94. Macquarie Bank eased 57c to $64.90.
Woodside fell 17c to $40.91, Santos found 8c to $11.42 and Oil Search dipped 2c to $3.43.
Meanwhile, Coles Myer yesterday said after the market's close it had rejected a takeover proposal from a group of private equity companies. Its shares closed 13c lower at $13.71.
Other retailers were softer with Woolworths dropping 22c to $20.38, David Jones 7c to $3.52 and Harvey Norman 4c to $3.47.
Media stocks were lower with John Fairfax down 5c to $3.95, PBL 22c to $18.33 and News Corp 25c to $25.82.
Its non-voting scrip dropped 24c to $24.81.
The price of gold ended Sydney trading at $US637.90 an ounce, up $US8.90 on Tuesday's close.
Gold stocks firmed with Newcrest Mining up 36c to $21.55, Newmont Mining rising 3c to $6.78 and Lihir Gold 1c to $3.12.

Market breaks winning streak

The sharemarket broke a run of gains after a soft lead from Wall Street and with much-speculated takeover bids failing to materialise.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 18.3 points lower at 5097.1 after advancing 138 points in the previous five sessions.
ABN Amro private client adviser Bill Bishop said investors were keenly awaiting possible bids for companies such as Foster's and Coles Myer.
"The market has worked itself into a state of excitement but nothing's yet happened," Mr Bishop said. "There are oceans of cash controlled, if not held, by the leveraged buy-out operators and they are looking for opportunities."
The resource giants had a mediocre day. BHP Billiton was pared back 5¢ to $27.65 while Rio Tinto edged up 3¢ to $72.98.
The Big Four banks were mostly lower. ANZ slid 16¢ to $27.09, National Australia Bank dipped 39¢ to $35.93, and Westpac softened 21¢ to $23.16. Commonwealth picked up 2¢ to $45.74.
Suncorp-Metway moved up 54¢ to $21.04 after posting a small increase in full-year net profit to $916 million.
Sims Group closed 61¢ higher at $20.46. The world's biggest recycler of scrap metal reported that fourth-quarter profit had risen to a record $79 million.
Adsteam Marine shares tumbled 34¢ to $2.20 after a $693 million friendly takeover deal for the tugboat operator was thrown into doubt after being referred to Britain's competition regulator.
Retailers were also marked back. Coles Myer lost 12¢ to $13.87, David Jones dipped 2¢ to $3.51, and Woolworths shed 4¢ to $20.66.
Despite a small rise in the oil price, energy stocks moved into negative territory, with Woodside Petroleum shifting down 46¢ to $41.80, Oil Search dropping 8¢ to $3.37, and Santos shuffling back 6¢ to $11.13.
Gold extended Thursday's gains but the goldminers were mixed, with Newmont dropping 4¢ to $6.78, Newcrest picking up 35¢ to $19.85, and Lihir rising 11¢ to $3.10.
Foster's rose 15¢ to $6.10. The stock, which reached a record $6.40 yesterday, has gained 12 per cent since Tuesday on rumours of a takeover bid.
Three companies that were removed from the benchmark index in a quarterly review lost ground. Novogen fell 7¢ to $2.59, Repco, the worst-performing stock in the benchmark index this year, dropped 5.5¢ to $1.14, and Wattyl declined 5¢ to $2.74.
The dollar pushed higher, with dealers expecting it to make a run for US77¢. At 5pm it was trading at US76.44¢, up from US76.32¢ on Thursday and US75.82¢ at the end of last week.
OzForex senior corporate dealer Euan McCreadie said the Aussie had received a slight boost from yesterday's data showing that the current account deficit narrowed to a seasonally adjusted $13.24 billion in the June quarter.