Market back on the up as bargain hunters buy banks

The stockmarket closed in positive territory despite a flat lead from offshore markets. Big banks were the ones driving the bourse in an upward direction.
The ASX200 index closed 68.3 points higher at 5452.6, while the All Ordinaries was up 64.7 to 5432.5.
CMC Markets analyst David Land said mixed commodity prices and a flat lead from the US were not enough to drag the bourse into negative territory.
"There was a bit of mixed anticipation at the start of the day because of the mixed lead but the market got itself into gear pretty quickly," Mr Land said.
"What is driving the market … is the big banks. We have seen them sold off quite heavily in the past few sessions and it looks like a bit of bargain hunting.
"It was a pretty mixed session with commodity prices overnight but this hasn't held back the resource stocks … it is a bit of a reverse of what we saw yesterday with all of the major sectors in positive territory."
Of the big miners Rio Tinto rose 98c to $73.88 and BHP Billiton was 4c higher at $25.85.
BHP chairman Don Argus told shareholders at its annual general meeting in Brisbane yesterday that growth in north-east Asia would continue to be a major influence on the global economy.
The US provided a relatively flat lead after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's inflation warnings countered a rise in energy shares. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 14.74 to 12,136.45.
Monopoly wheat exporter AWB shed 4c to $2.78 after announcing plans to split into two companies: a wholly grower-owned single-desk manager and a purely commercial agribusiness company.
The banks were stronger with ANZ putting on 66c to $28.28, the National Australia Bank gaining $1.03 to $39.03, the Commonwealth rising 46c to $47.46 and Westpac picking up 43c to $24.30.
Property developer Mirvac lost 4c to $5.38 after announcing plans to buy a portfolio of properties and businesses from Walker Corp for $1.12 billion.
The retail sector was stronger with Coles gaining 8c to $13.46, Woolworths adding 40c to $21.82, David Jones picking up 3c to $3.79 and Harvey Norman edging 4c higher to $3.99.
Miller's Retail was up 1c on big volume to $1.64. NAB's MLC subsidiary said it had become a substantial shareholder with 5 per cent, having been a buyer since July at between 63c and $2.13.
Australia's largest grocery wholesaler Metcash rose 5c to $4.39 after posting a first half net profit of $66.13 million, more than double the figure in the same period last year.
The energy sector was mixed despite a rise in the oil price with Woodside gaining 44c to $36.52, Oil Search rising 6c to $3.31 and Santos shedding 2c to $10.26.
Media was mixed with PBL gaining 27c to $20.97, Fairfax up 10c to $5.17, News Corp shedding 26c to $27.30 and its non-voters down 25c to $26.07.
The spot gold price was a smidge lower at $US638.77 an ounce, down US11c from Tuesday's local close.
The goldminers were mixed with Newcrest gaining $1.31 to $25.73, Lihir edging 12c higher to $3.07 and Newmont down 5c to $5.85.
Focus Mining announced good results from three drill holes on its Perserverance block at Coolgardie, including 3m at 95.56gpt at a depth of 143m.
Some 29.6 million shares went through as high as 6.5c, before closing 0.6c higher at 6.1c.
Junior explorer Metals Australia was the most traded stock on the market with 309.4 million shares changing hands.
Market turnover reached 2.2 billion shares worth a total value of $5.9 billion with 692 stocks moving up, 478 moving down and 339 unchanged.

Banks, resources lead the plunge

The stockmarket took a dive yesterday as a negative US lead and profit-taking dragged down stocks across the board.
The all-important big banking and resources stocks were weaker, and that was that.
"Most of the top 200 stocks are in negative territory today. It [the reason for the fall] is probably a bit from column A and a bit from column B," CMC Markets market analyst David Land said.
"There were negative leads coming from most of the European markets and then flowing into the US, so that never really set us up for a particularly good start to the session."
Mr Land said some investors were taking profits on stocks that had moved quickly upward in recent weeks.
At the close, the ASX200 index was down 67.9 points, or 1.25 per cent, at 5384.3, while the All Ordinaries had fallen 64.7 points to 5367.8.
Among the major banks, the National Australia bank lost 30c to $38, Westpac reversed 37c to $23.87, the ANZ backtracked 34c to $27.62, and the Commonwealth shed 68c to $47.
In the resources sector, BHP Billiton was off 41c at $25.81 and Rio Tinto retreated $1.65 to $72.90.
Woodside Petroleum was 39c lighter at $36.08 while Santos was down 1c at $10.28. Oil Search was down 4c at $3.25.
On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average had fallen 158.46 points to 12,121.71, after a disappointing sales forecast from retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
In the gold sector, Newmont was steady at $5.90, Newcrest dumped 63c to $24.42 and Lihir sagged 10c to $2.95.
The price of gold in Sydney was $US638.80 per fine ounce, down $US1.70 on Monday's close.
Telstra slipped 2c to $3.67, the partly paids were up 1c to $2.25 and Optus-owner Singapore Telecom was steady at $2.45.
Retailer Coles surrendered 25c to $13.38 and Woolworths fell 7c to $21.42.
News Corp lost 42c to $27.56, while its non-voting stock fell 48c to $26.32. Publishing & Broadcasting fell 33c to $20.70 and Fairfax was down 3c to $5.07.
Monopoly wheat exporter AWB was down 4c to $2.82.
Transport group Toll Holdings worsened by 25c to $16.31 after it said its 62 per cent stake in budget airline Virgin Blue could enhance value for Toll shareholders. Virgin Blue was 1c lower at $2.10.
Heavy equipment rental company Emeco Holdings shed 7c to $1.79 as it said earnings so far were in line with expectations.
Minerals explorer Aztec Resources was steady at 26.5c as directors recommended Mount Gibson Iron's takeover offer.

It's out of banks and back into resources

The sharemarket closed flat yesterday as investors switched from banks into resources to cash in on stronger commodity prices.
The ASX200 index closed down 1.4 points at 5,452.2, while the All Ordinaries was up 1.1 at 5,432.5.
ABN Amro Morgans client adviser Margaret Morrissey said base metals, gold and oil had all been stronger at the end of last week.
"People switched out of the financial stocks back into the resource sector because of the jump in metal prices," Ms Morrissey said.
BHP Billiton firmed 10c to $26.22 while Rio Tinto put on 13c to $74.55.
Zinc and lead miner Zinifex, which retreated 23c to $16.47, said it might improve on last year's record net profit if zinc prices stayed at current high levels.
In the oils, Woodside was up 33c, or almost 1 per cent, to $36.47 and Oil Search rose 2c to $3.29. But Santos was off 14c to $10.29 and Beach down 4.5c to $1.40.
The four major banks were all weaker, led down by the ANZ which fell 17c to $27.96.
National Australia Bank was 16c poorer at $38.30, the Commonwealth eased 13c to $47.68 while Westpac was 7c worse off at $24.24.
Australia's fifth biggest bank, St George, bucked the trend, rising 30c to $33.85. Both Bank of Queensland and Bendigo Bank were down 14c, BoQ to $15.33 and Bendigo to $13.97. Wide Bay was up 1c at $12.51.
All the major media stocks headed south except for deemed takeover prospect John Fairfax which gained 3c to $5.10.
News Corp lost 37c to $27.98 while its non voting scrip reversed 43c to $26.80.
PBL was 18c weaker at $21.03.
In retail, Coles Group celebrated the decree nisi from Myer with a 4c rise to $13.63 while supermarket rival Woolworths pulled back 15c to $21.49.
Telstra backtracked 2c to $3.69 as did its instalment receipts, to $2.24.
AWB put on 6c to $2.86 despite all the bad publicity, though mostly about former executives.
Australia's biggest barley producer, ABB Grain, which announced a 60 per cent increase in annual net profit, was rewarded with a 15c lift to $6.48.
Gaming group Tabcorp Holdings, which said it was expecting a flat first half for the year, tumbled 18c to $16.59.
The price of gold in Sydney was up $US8.90 at $US640.50 per fine ounce just near the close.
Goldminers rose accordingly, with Newcrest Mining jumping 68c to $25.05, Newmont firming 2c to $5.90 and Lihir Gold rising 15c to $3.05.
The most traded stock was Perth explorer Western Metals, which has joined the uranium rush in Tanzania,with 122.5 million shares changing hands for a total of $11.9 million.
The stock gained 0.3c to 9.2c after hitting a 52-week high of 11c.
Market turnover reached 1.69 billion shares worth a total of $3.78 billion, with 640 stocks moving up, 560 falling and 324 unchanged.

Takeover talk drives Qantas, Foster's, DJs

Talk of takeovers drove the sharemarket higher yesterday, centred on Qantas and speculation that brewer and winemaker Foster's was also a target.
The ASX200 index closed 21.2 points higher at 5466.9, while the All Ordinaries rose 18.8 to 5441.6.
ABN Amro Morgan client adviser Margaret Morrissey said Qantas lost some value because of politicians casting doubt over a proposed private equity deal for the airline.
"They are worried about the assets being stripped and sent offshore," Ms Morrissey said.
Qantas shares closed down 7c at $4.93, having gone as low as $4.83 early, but Allco Finance Group, which revealed it had been approached to join the private equity syndicate, improved 70c to $11.02.
Ms Morrissey said the 27c lift in Foster's to $6.80 was due to speculation that the world's biggest brewer, Belgium's InBev, was circling for a takeover.
"Rumour has it that they will pay $7.50," Ms Morrissey said.
On the eve of the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the US, technology stocks gained slightly but the Dow was little changed.
Here, the banking sector was strong with Westpac the best, up 47c to $24.49. The NAB gained 48c to $38.89, the Commonwealth also picked up 47c to $48.12 while ANZ rose 20c to $28.25.
Guy Hutchings, chief investment officer of MFS Investment Management, said the focus on banks probably related more to the risk of other sectors, including the major miners and energy stocks.
"There is a sense that metal prices are vulnerable and volatility may well rise in coming months," Mr Hutchings said.
Resources were mixed, with BHP Billiton falling 8c to $26.35 and Rio Tinto up just 1c to $74.45.
Oil and gas producer Woodside jettisoned 49c to $36.50. Santos fell 17c and Oil Search 5c to $3.29.
In retail, David Jones, also a target of takeover speculation, benefited with a 14c jump to a record closing high of $3.90.
Coles bounced 10c to $13.74 while supermarket rival Woolworths was 14c weaker at $21.87.
In media, Fairfax was steady at $5.15 while Publishing and Broadcasting put on 18c to $20.84.
News Corp lifted 10c to $28.49 while its non voting scrip gained 5c to $27.35.
Telstra's T3 instalments, again the most traded stock with 214.7 million shares changing hands for $491.68 million, retreated 5c to $2.25 while the real Telstras fell 3c to $3.69.
Healthcare group Symbion, which said it was on track to meet its earnings guidance for 2006-07, was rewarded with a 7c rise to $3.30.
Spot gold in Sydney was up $US1.70 at $US629 per fine ounce.
However, goldminers were mixed with Newcrest 51c stronger at $23.75 but Newmont lost 5c to $5.80 and Lihir was off 4c at $2.82. Bendigo was down 2.5c to 77.5c.
Western Metals, which was interested in the Zeehan tin mine, was up 0.9c to 5.8c, with 93 million traded, on news it had picked up some promising uranium tenements in Tanzania.

Qantas takes off - and so do the rest

The stockmarket closed in positive territory yesterday on a day headlined by a takeover approach for national carrier Qantas Airways.
The ASX200 index closed 87.7 points higher at 5445.7 and the All Ordinaries rose 83.5 to 5422.8.
Austock Brokers senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said a positive lead from offshore markets and healthy commodity prices set the scene for a strong day.
"The resources were the leading sector of the day, as you would expect with the strong commodity prices, but most sectors were pretty strong," Mr Heffernan said. "If you look at the top 20, they are all in positive territory so that gives you an indication of the strength of the market.
"Qantas lifted off with its takeover approach … a 15 per cent rise for a top 20 stock - there is no question it was the stock of the day."
Qantas shares surged to a 12- month high of $5.25 following the announcement the airline had received a takeover approach from a consortium led by Macquarie Bank and US private equity firm Texas Pacific Group.
Qantas shares closed the day up 65c at $5.00.
Telstra's T3 securities were the most traded stock for the third day running with 181.8 million receipts changing hands worth $412.6 million.
Telstra itself was again not far behind with 134 million shares traded worth $496.1 million. The T3 receipts gained 9c to $2.30 while Telstra was 8c better at $3.72.
Stronger commodity prices boosted the big miners with BHP Billiton gaining 74c to $26.43 and rival Rio Tinto picking up $1.87 to $74.44.
A jump in the oil price buoyed the energy sector with Woodside putting on 47c to $36.99, Santos up 33c to $11.17 and Oil Search rising 8c to $3.34.
Gold closed in Sydney trading at $US627.30 an ounce, up $US4.42 from Tuesday's close.
The goldminers were strong with Newmont rising 10c to $5.85, Newcrest up 24c to $23.24 and Lihir 7c higher at $2.86.
Wheat exporter AWB gained 3c to $2.56 despite posting a 68.4 per cent decline in annual net profit to $58.14 million.
AWB attributed the decline to adverse seasonal conditions and a lower contribution from domestic grain trading, as well as costs associated with the oil-for-food inquiry.
Media was mixed with John Fairfax 15c higher at $5.15, PBL up 36c to $20.66, News Corp shedding 6c to $28.39 and its non-voters down 10c to $27.30.
The banking sector was in positive territory with ANZ up 22c to $28.05, the Commonwealth gaining 45c to $47.65, NAB up 36c at $38.41 and Westpac up 19c to $24.02.
Retail was strong with Harvey Norman gaining 9c to $4.06, Coles up 24c to $13.64 and Woolworths rising 39c to $22.01.

Sharemarket all over the place - but up

Australian stocks closed in positive territory yesterday despite a varied performance across a range of sectors.
The ASX200 index closed 35.6 points higher at 5358, while the All Ordinaries was up 35.9 points at 5339.3.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was up 79 points to 5374, reversing Monday's big discount and establishing a mild premium, on volume of 24,719.
"Bit of a mixed bag today, resources stocks BHP and Rio are down but Woodside and Alumina are up," Macquarie Equities adviser Helen Spencer said.
Mining group BHP Billiton shed 36c to $25.69 and rival Rio Tinto retreated 43c to $72.57.
"Outside of the banking stocks most other industrials are jumping higher after yesterday's retreat," she added.
Banks too were mixed, ANZ dropping 4c to $27.83 and NAB surrendering 11c to $38.05 but Westpac gained 7c to $23.83 and the Commonwealth was up 5c to $47.20.
Car brake maker Pacifica closed 13c higher at $2.17 after a third takeover attempt by Robert Bosch GmbH at $2.20 a share gained a nod from the board.
The higher close countered a dip in US stocks overnight as buying lost momentum after a series of record highs and a drop in oil prices hit energy shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 26.02 points to 12,316.54, while the S&P 500 was down 0.7 points at 1400.50.
Despite a slight fall in the price of gold, miners managed to post convincing gains, with Lihir Gold up 2c to $2.79 and Newcrest up 15c to $23 even.
There was news in the retail sectors: Harvey Norman said its 18 per cent rise in sales for the first four months of 2006-07 was a good sign for the rest of the year and significant Coles shareholder Premier Investments said it would consider a joint private bid to buy all or parts of the retailing group.
Harvey Norman ended 8c richer at $3.97 and Coles stayed steady at $13.40, while fellow retailer Woolworths rose 25c to $21.62 and David Jones jumped 10c to $3.64.
Sporting goods retailer Rebel Sport said it was expecting a big Christmas, helped by hot, dry weather and the Ashes. Its share rose 1c to $4.51.
Media stocks were generally lower, with PBL losing 5c to $20.30, News Corp down 18c at $28.45 and its non-voting stock 24c poorer at $27.40, but Fairfax jumped 18c to $5.00, no doubt on suspicion that a cashed-up Seven could be a bidder.
Telecom group Telstra's partly paid instalment receipts were 3c stronger at $2.21, while Telstra shares gained 1c to $3.64.
Some 214 million T3 instalment receipts were traded.

Final price for Telstra shares is $3.60

Mum and dad retail investors will pay $1.60 for the final instalment of Telstra shares bought in the third and last sale of the company's stock by the federal government.
The price means the total cost of the shares, to be paid for in two instalments, will be $3.60, including a first instalment of $2.00.
Institutional investors will also pay $1.60, which added to the first instalment of $2.10 equates to a price for $3.70.
The securities will begin trading as instalment receipts on the Australian Stock Exchange at 1130 AEDT Monday.
Finance minister Nick Minchin said interest in the offer was strong and that the government would raise $15.5 billion after selling about 35 per cent of Telstra, which was better than expected.
The government's total stake equates to 51.8 per cent.
"The level of interest from investors, both retail and institutional, was much higher than expected, making T3 the second biggest share offering in Australian history," Senator Minchin said.
"Our sale team managed the T3 process extremely well and designed an offer structure which proved to be highly attractive to both ordinary investors and investment funds."
Brokers and analysts had tipped the full price for Telstra shares would be around $3.75 and that the government would sell more than its initial target of $8 billion worth, after an institutional bookbuild closed on Friday.
In the first float of Telstra shares, retail investors paid $3.30 per share and in the second offer $7.40 per share.
The remainder of the government's stake, or 17 per cent, will be placed in the Future Fund to be sold down over time.
"In order to satisfy the much higher than expected entitlement demand from existing shareholders, the base offer size has been increased, in accordance with the prospectus, to 3.69 billion shares," Senator Minchin said.
"In addition, as set out in the prospectus, a further 554 million shares were made available to satisfy other demand in the institutional offer, bringing the total institutional offer size to 1.7 billion shares."
Retail investors have been allocated a total of 2.5 billion shares in the offer.
Allocations are split 60 per cent retail, 28 per cent domestic institutions and 12 per cent international institutions.
Existing Telstra shareholders will be guaranteed an allocation of up to 10,000 shares before any scale-back occurs.
General retail investors will be guaranteed an allocation of up to 5,000 shares before any scale-back occurs.
All retail investors will receive 75 percent of their application above these thresholds, up to a maximum of 100,000 shares.
The second instalment price is not due to be paid for 18 months.

Sharemarket makes a late dash into positive territory

Australian stocks staged an afternoon rally to end the week on a high note, after trading lower throughout the day.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 27.1 points higher at 5419.7, while the All Ordinaries rose 27.6 points to 5391.5.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract gained 33 points to 5432, on a volume of 19,293 contracts.
"It is quite an unusual situation but the market has come back with a vengeance this afternoon," ABN Amro Morgans dealer Simon Reed said. "In resources some softer commodity prices overnight have set the tone for a fairly subdued performance."
Mining giant BHP Billiton ended 3c lower at $26.49, while rival Rio Tinto dropped 18c to $74.82.
Metal recycler Sims Group rose 35c to $20.58, after it forecast a near doubling in first-half profit this year due to higher base metals prices and strong growth in its US operations.
The price of spot gold in Sydney ended $US6 lower at $US618.50 per fine ounce.
Lihir Gold fell 2c to $2.85 and Newmont Mining declined 20c to $5.71. Newcrest rose 52c to $22.75 after it said it had restructured its hedge book to get better exposure to a generally buoyant spot gold price.
Mr Reed pointed to Toll Holdings as a key performer after it ended 31c higher at $16, saying that the rise was due to a favourable response to a roadshow now under way.
"It'll be interesting to see whether the market can continue to hold its recent strength after a record run, in an environment where many of our top 50 companies are getting very expensive," he said.
On Wall Street on Thursday night, stocks rose as investors bet a sharp slide in crude oil prices would boost profits and could even prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 54.11 points to a record 12,305.82 while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lifted 3.19 points to 1399.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.31 points to 2449.06.
Media was in the spotlight after Macquarie Media Group revealed it had paid $165 million for a 13.8 per cent stake in radio and television group Southern Cross Broadcasting.
Macquarie Media ended 5c higher at $4.86, while Southern Cross surged $1.11 to $15.60.
Elsewhere in the media sector, PBL added 43c to $20.70, John Fairfax swelled 5c to $4.82, but News Corp dropped 3c to $28.89 and its non voting stock shed 11c to $27.88.
Telstra, which will see stock from the Government's third offering start trading on Monday, was the most traded stock of the day with 55.8 million shares worth $209.5 million changing hands.
The telecom closed down 2c at $3.75.
Banks were mixed with Westpac gaining 3c to $24.21 and NAB rising 45c to $39.25, but CBA dropped 15c to $48.20 and ANZ lost 16c to $28.49.
Retailers were positive on Friday, with Woolworths rising 18c to $21.88, Coles Myer increasing 8c to $13.48 and David Jones advancing 8c to $3.57.
Market turnover was 1.37 billion shares, with a combined price tag of $4.95 billion, while 611 companies closed higher, 510 lower and 354 unchanged.

Late retreat by banks puts index back on the slide

The stockmarket reverted to last week's trend and closed lower yesterday, following a retreat from positive territory in afternoon trading by the big banks and despite some big leaps in favoured stocks.
Austock senior client adviser and market strategist Michael Heffernan said the banks and the market had drifted after the release of figures on wages growth.
"That might have frightened the horses a bit and some people may have thought that meant an interest rate rise might be back on the agenda," Mr Heffernan said.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the wage price index was up 3.8 per cent from a year ago.
At the close, the ASX200 index was 5.7 points lower at 5429.9, while the All Ordinaries was down 6.3 points at 5399.1.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange the December share price index contract reversed 16 points to 54264, a reversion to the last fortnight's trend of closing below the physical.
Among the banks, the National Australia Bank lost 1c to $39.24, the Commonwealth backtracked 8c to $48.42, the ANZ retreated 5c to $28.85 and Westpac was down 32c at $24.69.
In the resources, lower prices for base metals helped drive down BHP Billiton by 35c to $26.50 and Rio Tinto was down $1.47 at $75.08.
Woodside Petroleum was off 74c at $37.43 but Santos firmed 4c to $10.90. Oil Search gained 2c to $3.42 and Roc Oil was 6c better at $3.20.
Retailer Coles Myer was off 14c at $13.59 after it reported that sales rose by only 3 per cent in the first quarter.
Supermarket rival Woolworths jumped 49c to $21.82.
Poor old Telstra sagged 6c to $3.80 as the first day of the T3 institutional offer got under way.
Optus owner Singapore Telecom firmed 2c to $2.40.
News Corp weakened 10c to $29.02 after boss Rupert Murdoch said the company would take a 10 per cent stake in newspaper rival John Fairfax Holdings Ltd if it needed to. News's non-voters were 14c lower at $28.00.
Fairfax shed 1c to $4.81 and PBL rose 22c to $20.27.
The price of gold in Sydney at 1633 AEDT was $US622.60 per fine ounce, down US90c from Tuesday's close.
Newmont Mining was 4c down at $5.87, Newcrest lost 34 cents at $23.14, and Lihir eased 4c to $2.92.
Among the big winners were fertiliser manufacturer Incitec Pivot, which soared $4.56, or 18.45 per cent, to $29.27 after reporting a healthy rise in annual profit despite the drought.
BlueScope Steel jumped 57c to $7.93 after saying trading in the first four months of the year had been encouraging and net profit during that period exceeded $250 million.
Energy utility Alinta rose 17c to $10.59 as it announced a cash offer to buy the remaining 80 per cent share of Alinta Infrastructure Holdings (AIH) that it does not already own.
Bread and margarine maker Goodman Fielder nudged up a penny to $2.10 as it said it expected to meet its annual profit forecast despite higher wheat and canola prices and difficult trading conditions.
Insurance Australia Group was 13c heavier at $5.74 as it said it was on track to deliver at the high end of its full year guidance.
Share registry operator Computershare ascended 79c to $8.50 after upgrading its earnings forecast for fiscal 2007.
The top traded stock by volume was Range Resources, with 87.1 million shares worth $2.4 million changing hands. It finished up 0.5c at 2.9c despite news from the Horn of Africa that the Islamic Courts army was moving on Puntland, where Range has its permits.

Lower metals, oil drag market down

The sharemarket fell as frenzied selling of base metals and a serious slip in the oil price on Friday punished local resource stocks.
But a resilient banking sector helped moderate the decline.
At the close the ASX 200 index was 18.3 points lower at 5418.4, while the All Ordinaries had fallen 19.3 points to 5389.9.
At 1615 on the Sydney Futures Exchange the December share price index contract was up 3 at 5435 and had swung around to a 15-point premium to the physical, the first premium in two weeks.
Copper was the biggest dipper on Friday on the London Metals Exchange, falling by more than 5 per cent on rising stockpiles, but nickel, zinc, aluminium, lead and tin also lost a lot of ground.
Big miner BHP Billiton was hit hard by the falls, losing $1.09, or 3.9 per cent, to $26.84. Rival Rio Tinto tumbled $2.94 to $77.52.
Aluminium processor Alumina crumpled 8c to $6.29 and zinc and lead miner Zinifex, which had been enjoying record zinc prices, fell $1.38, or 8.13 per cent, to $15.59.
Woodside Petroleum fell 30c to $38.32 as crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed $US1.57 on Friday to settle at $US59.59 a barrel and hadn't picked up much on early trading last night.
Santos and Oil Search dropped 22c and 7c to close at $10.88 and $3.39 respectively.
ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Bill Bishop said the market had obviously been dragged down by resource stocks.
"But not to be forgotten are the banks, which have many times been called overpriced and at the end of their run.
"But they're up again tremendously," Mr Bishop said.
National Australia Bank was up 70c to $39.31, the Commonwealth advanced 69c to $48.25, ANZ climbed 7c to $28.60 and Westpac rose 21c to $24.89.
Mr Bishop said takeover speculation in the market may have boosted stocks such as Ten Network, up 11c at $3.39.
"Every second day a new stock comes into the line of fire of private equity people - I don't know of anything going on with Ten specifically but it may well be the speculator's stock of choice for the day."
As for the resources sector, Mr Bishop said investors shaken by yesterday's events should stay calm.
"This is probably a short-term reaction, people shouldn't get too worked up about it.
"BHP, for example, has certainly been thrashed.
"So they've had a bad day, but they've also had a great run for two years.
"I think anything under $27 is a pretty good buy for BHP so if it falls much further there will probably be plenty of buyers."
Other media stocks helped prop up the market.
PBL made 12c to $19.32, News Ltd lifted 13c to $29.03, its non-voters rising 25c to $28.02, and Seven Network made 23c to $10.09.
Entertainment group Village Roadshow shot up 30c to $2.90 after shareholders were rewarded with an interim dividend and $130 million capital return.
Telstra was also stronger, picking up 2c to $3.94, ahead of its annual meeting in Melbourne tomorrow.

Metal prices help market to a fresh set of highs

The stockmarket galloped to another record high yesterday after a strong boost from the major resources stocks.
At the 4.15pm close, the ASX200 index was up 47.5 points to 5491.6, beating its previous record close set yesterday. It also hit a high of 5496.3 during trading.
The All Ordinaries reached a closing record of 5456.7, up 46.6, with a day's high of 5460.4.
CMC Markets senior dealer James Foulsham said the market had started off with a flurry of activity before easing off ahead of the Melbourne Cup.
"Obviously the Dow was very strong so we got a lot of mileage out of that and Rio Tinto and BHP were also looking pretty good," Mr Foulsham said.
"The market has looked very strong over the last few days."
Rio Tinto was up $2.80 to $82.00 while rival BHP Billiton gained 59c to $28.23.
The banks also finished stronger, with National Australia Bank up 49c to $40.20, ANZ up 40c to $29.80, the Commonwealth was 27c stronger at $48.50 and Westpac rose 16c to $24.36.
Among the other major financials, Macquarie Bank gained $1.34 to $74.89.
Adelaide Bank hit a new high of $14.10, up 9c, Bank of Queensland was up a cent to $16.45 but Bendigo Bank fell 43c to $14.75.
A lift in base metal and oil prices helped to boost energy stocks with Woodside Petroleum up 14c to $37.44 while Santos gained 14c to $10.80 and Oil Search improved 3c to $3.39.
In retail, Coles Myer dipped 2c to $13.90, supermarket rival Woolworths lost 7c to $21.02 and David Jones slipped 1c to $3.45.
Rebel Sport remained in a trading halt as it considered a proposal concerning the company's future. Majority owner Harvey Norman was up 2c at $3.77. Rebel shares last traded at $4.35 on Friday.
In other news, tug boat operator Adsteam Marine's shares were unmoved at $2.34 after the company said the current drought would have a negative effect on its business as grain shipments out of Australian ports declined.
Adsteam, which is awaiting UK regulatory approval for a $700 million friendly takeover by Danish shipping giant SvitzerWijsmuller, also said it expected a booming resource sector to offset the drought.
Media stocks were mixed with News Corp 25c stronger at $28.10 and its non-voting scrip ahead 27c to $26.93.
Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd firmed 3c to $19.20 while Fairfax dipped 1c to $4.87 and Seven eased 4c to $9.86. Ten was down 3c to $3.28.

Telstra went against the trend, falling 2c to $3.91, and Qantas gained 11c to $4.31.
The gold price was at $US624.60 at 1644 AEDT, down $US4.05 on Monday's close.
Lihir Gold gained 2c to $2.85, Newcrest was up 21c to $24.25 and Newmont was down 7c to $5.95.
The most actively traded stock was African uranium explorer Deep Yellow with 74.47 million shares worth $32.95 million changing hands. The shares jumped 4.5c, or 11.8 per cent, to finish at 42.5c, having gone as high as 48.5c.
Deep Yellow goes ex a 1-for-5 entitlement at 12c a share today.
Another explorer recently granted permits in Namibia, Extract Resources, was up 0.6c to 9.5c on good volume. Aim Resources, which hopes to have its Burkina Faso zinc mine up and going next year, jumped 3c to 18.5c on trade of 21.2 million.
Acupuncture and "wellness" monitoring company Medec shares doubled to 35.5c after announcing revenue for the September quarter of $4.4 million.
Preliminary national market turnover was 1.24 billion shares worth $3.69 billion, with 623 stocks rising, 486 falling and 344 unchanged.

Another day, another record, as banks lead

The sharemarket closed at another record high fuelled by strength in some of the banking stocks in a soft day of trading.
The ASX 200 index finished up 12.1 points at 5444.1 - also a new intraday high - beating its previous record close set on Friday of 5432.
The All Ordinaries reached a closing record of 5410.10, up 13.2 points, defeating Friday's record of 5396.90 as well as its previous intraday high.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was 2 higher at 5431, on a volume of 8010 contracts - and at a 13 point discount to the physical.
ABN Amro Morgans Ipswich manager Tony Russell said banking stocks had led the market to the strong close but trading had been quiet ahead Melbourne Cup day and expectations interest rates would be lifted on Wednesday.
"It has just sort of gone into a little bit of holiday mode at the moment," Mr Russell said.
Among the banks, Westpac rose 27c to $24.20, National Australia Bank was up 11c at $39.71, St George put on 14c to $33.22 but the Commonwealth closed 2c weaker at $48.23 and ANZ fell 32c to $29.40.
BHP Billiton jumped 19c to $27.64 but rival mining giant Rio Tinto shrank 25c to $79.20.
Woodside Petroleum was among the big gainers, increasing 65c to $37.30 as world oil prices rose, Oil Search firmed 3c to $3.36 but Santos dipped 4c to $10.66.
Patties Foods finished its first day of trading at $1.92, 17c higher than its issue price.
The company behind brands such as Four'N Twenty, Patties Pies, Herbert Adams and Nanna's raised $102.7 million through an issue of 58.7 million shares at $1.75 a share.
Among other retailers, Coles Myer rose 7c to $13.92, but rival grocer Woolworths fell 3c to $21.09 and David Jones slipped 1c to $3.46.
Harvey Norman rose 10c to $3.75. Sporting goods chain Rebel Sport, in which Harvey Norman has a majority stake, asked for a trading halt to consider a proposal concerning the company's future.
Rebel Sport shares last traded on Friday at $4.35.
Also in the news, Chiquita Brands South Pacific shares were unchanged at 71.5c after the banana grower's parent company and second biggest shareholder accepted a takeover offer for the company from Tradefresh Pty Ltd.
Mayne Pharma dropped 5c to $4.34 as the oncology drugs maker said a December shareholder meeting might have to be delayed after the US Federal Trade Commission raised further questions over its $2.63 billion takeover bid from US hospital products manufacturer Hospira Inc.
Telstra slid 2c to $3.93 and SingTel, the owner of rival telecom Optus, was steady at $2.22.
In the goldminers, Newmont lifted 6c to $6.02, Lihir firmed 5c to $2.83 but Newcrest fell 6c to $24.04.
Bendigo Mining was down 1c at 84c after placing 62.3 million shares at 80c each last week.
The most actively traded stock on volume was Deep Yellow with 68.84 million shares worth $24.2 million changing hands as shares in the uranium explorer jumped 10c to 38c.
Market turnover was 1.296 billion shares worth $3.34 billion with 633 stocks rising, 542 falling and 333 unchanged.

Market at record on back of banks

The Australian sharemarket closed at a record high on Friday with the financial sector, particularly NAB, driving shares into positive territory.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was 22.6 points higher at 5432, compared with the previous closing high of 5416.4 set on Wednesday.
The index also set a new intraday high of 5432.5, beating the previous peak of 5419.1 also set on Wednesday.
The All Ordinaries rose 19.8 points to 5396.9, surpassing the previous closing record of 5383.6, also set on November 1.
A new intraday high of 5397.4 was achieved, beating the former mark of 5385.5 on October 30.
At 1634 AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was 25 points higher at 5428, on a volume of 12,903 contracts.
Man Financial broker Anthony Anderson said NAB's stellar result pulled up the rest of the sector.
"Westpac has even recovered on the back of the outlook for the banks," he said. "The volumes aren't huge but if the Dow behaves itself tonight we should be in for a reasonable week."
NAB surged $1.40 to $39.60 after posting annual profit of almost $4.4 billion while CBA rose 44c to $48.25.
CBA chief executive Ralph Norris reiterated the bank's guidance for the full year.
Other banks were also stronger. Westpac rose 13c to $23.93, ANZ 13c to $29.72 and St George 48c to $33.08.
In the US on Thursday night, the Dow Jones lost 12.48 points to 12,018.54, the Standard & Poor's 500 slipped 0.47 points to 1367.34 and the Nasdaq fell 0.33 points to 2334.02.
Mr Anderson said the big miners seemed to be out of favour despite the strong metal prices on Thursday night.
"I think perhaps it's just been a little bit of nervousness about the miners with the weak US numbers and ahead of the jobless data tonight," Mr Anderson said.
"The market is just taking a little bit of a breather, there is certainly not a change in sentiment."
Rio Tinto gained 25c to $79.45 while rival BHP Billiton slipped 15c to $27.45.
The retail sector was mixed with Woolworths rising 21c to $21.12, Coles Myer easing 2c to $13.85, Harvey Norman falling 5c to $3.65 and David Jones slipping 12c $3.47.
The energy sector was mixed despite an overnight drop in the oil price, with Woodside falling 30c to $36.65 and Oil Search gaining 3c to $3.33.
Santos was unchanged at $10.70.
Among the media stocks, PBL rose 14c to $19.13, Fairfax gained 2c to $4.90, News Corp lost 28c to $27.39 and its non-voting shares gave up 23c to $26.41.
The spot gold price was trading at $US623 an ounce at 1640 AEDT, up on Thursday's close of $US617 an ounce.
Lihir Gold firmed 1c to $2.78, Newmont Mining lost 1c to $5.96 and Newcrest slipped 25c to $24.10.
Junior explorer Regis Resources was the most traded stock on the market on Friday with 104.8 million shares changing hands, collectively worth $12.6 million.

Bull market loses a little bit of steam

The stockmarket closed slightly lower yesterday despite firming in late trading, with mixed performances among key banking and mining stocks.
ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Simon Ferguson said the big banks had enjoyed a good run upwards following the recent solid ANZ and St George profit results.
But there had been some slight disappointment among investors on the quality of the result from Westpac even though it was within expectations.
"That's probably flowed through to the other banks slightly," Mr Ferguson said.
Some profit-taking on the back of the weaker Dow Jones index in the US had also weighed upon the local bourse.
Nonetheless, Mr Ferguson said there was still good interest in the market, with plenty of takeover speculation, so investors did not want to sell too much.
At the close, the ASX 200 index was down 7 points at 5409.4, while the All Ordinaries was down 6.5 at 5377.1.
Westpac fell 21c to $23.80 despite posting a record annual profit and saying it expected improved performance momentum and strong cash earnings growth in 2006-07.
NAB dropped 24c to $38.20, the Commonwealth gained 12c to $47.81 and the ANZ improved 5c to $29.59.
In the resources, BHP Billiton stepped forward 8c to $27.60, Rio Tinto found 9c at $79.20 and Alumina jumped 26 cents to $6.65 despite on Wednesday lowering its profit expectations.
Woodside Petroleum slumped $1.09 to $36.95 while Santos picked up 6c to $10.70.
Among golds, Newmont rose 7c to $5.97 after posting a rise in third-quarter earnings. Newcrest reversed 7c to $24.35 and Lihir backtracked 3c to $2.77.
The price of gold in Sydney at 1627 AEDT was $US616.60 per fine ounce, up $US8.72 on Wednesday's close.
Television broadcaster Seven Network surged 64c to $9.96 as it said it expected improved ratings to boost earnings by up to 45 per cent in the first half of 2006-07.
PBL declined 33c to $18.99 and Fairfax eased 2c to $4.88. News Corp lost 53c to $27.67 while its non-voting stock fell 41c to $26.64.
Telstra fell 4c to $3.88 and Optus-owner Singapore Telecommunications slipped 3c to $2.22.
Retailer Coles Myer was 6c richer at $13.87 after it revamped its performance hurdles for key executives after long-time critic and former director Solomon Lew revealed last week that the targets were lower than its 2007-08 forecasts.
Woolworths fell 16c to $20.91.
Budget airline Virgin Blue was up 3c to $1.83 as it said it would spend almost $1 billion on 20 new aircraft which will fly throughout Australia and parts of the Pacific.

St George leads charge to new peak

The sharemarket closed at a record high, boosted by the leading mining stocks and with St George's solid profit result encouraging demand for most of the big banks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index put on 32 points to 5416.4, beating the previous closing high of 5399.4 set on Monday. The benchmark also set a new intraday high of 5419.1, beating the previous peak of 5409.9, also set on Monday.
ABN Amro Morgans' senior client adviser, Roger Chandler, said the market was buoyant. "St George's result was very good. That pushed the banks, especially the ones that haven't reported (their results) yet," he said. Higher metals prices and a strong Australian dollar lifted the resource sector.
St George reported a $1 billon-plus profit, slightly above market consensus, helping it gain 9¢ to $32.50. Westpac reports today and National Australia Bank tomorrow.
Westpac was 6¢ higher at $24.01, National Australia Bank lifted 26¢ to $38.44 and ANZ improved 50¢ to $29.54, but Commonwealth Bank scraped off 1¢ to $47.69.
In the resource sector, BHP Billiton rose 24¢ to $27.52 and Rio Tinto jumped 71¢ to $79.11.
Woodside Petroleum was 49¢ richer at $38.04 and Santos firmed 5¢ to $10.64.
Newcrest climbed 57¢ to $24.42 and Lihir picked up 5¢ to $2.80 as gold continued its ascent from a low of $US573.35 on Tuesday last week. At the close in Sydney it was up $US6.88 an ounce at $US607.88.
In the media sector, PBL slipped 6¢ to $19.32 while Fairfax found 4¢ to $4.90. News Corp's non-voting shares surrendered 16¢ to $27.05 and the voting scrip lost 15¢ to $28.20.
Coles Myer was 23¢ heavier at $13.81 and supermarket rival Woolworths advanced 38¢ to $21.07.
Telstra eased 4¢ to $3.92.
Takeover target Australian Pharmaceutical Industries was 1¢ lighter at $2.61 and predator Sigma Pharmaceuticals was steady at $2.58 as Sigma said it was discussing acquiring a 19.9 per cent stake in API with two major API shareholders.
Property developer Multiplex rose 5¢ to $3.73 after it said it was reviewing alternatives to its existing capital structure.
Transport group Toll Holdings was up 4¢ at $15.54 after its rail operator, Pacific National, sold back its lease of the Victorian regional rail network to the Victorian Government for $133.8 million.
Shares in retirement village and aged-care provider Aevum dipped 2¢ to $2.10 as it considered expanding into Queensland.
On Wall Street on Tuesday night, the market reversed for a second session as weaker than expected data on consumer confidence and Midwest business activity outweighed positive news on corporate deals and earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed for a second session, dipping 5.77 points to 12,080.73.