Australian Stock Market Closing

The S&P/ASX 200 Financials index rose 2.11pct or 98.9pts to 4793 after AXA rejected an $11 billion takeover offer from AMP despite AMP's offer being backed by AXA's mother company in France. AXA rose by 32.56pct or $1.40 to $5.70 whilst AMP gained 4.26pct or 25cents to $6.12.

The banks were mostly stronger, with the exception of Westpac (WBC), which went ex-dividend today. WBC fell 1.02pct or 27cents to $26.28. WBC is expected to pay a 60cent final dividend on the 21st December 2009. This is 16pct lower than last year's final payout. CBA rose 4.5pct or $2.37 to $55.08 after exceeding expectations with its September quarter update.

Our mining sector gained in line with the rise in the market and saw Australia's second largest miner, RIO Tinto (RIO) gaining 1.15pct or 75cents to $65.75. The gold producers also performed quite well, with Newcrest mining (NCM) gaining an impressive 3.58pct or $1.22 to $35.30 with the price of the precious metal currently trades at US$1103.95/oz.

On the economic front, the national average petrol price rose for the second straight week, after gaining 0.8cents to a 5 week high of 121.3cents/litre. Lending for new homes hit a 14 ½ year high in September and the number of job advertisements in both newspapers and over the internet fell by 1.7pct in October. Commsec's Chief Economist, Craig James said that "...First home buyers rushed the government grant in September before it was phased down. Those who entered a contract to build a new home before September 30 were eligible for a $21,000 grant. That grant phased down to $14,000 from October 1 and will phase down to $7,000 from January 1 next year."

When discussing the easing in the number of job advertisements in October Mr James went on to say that "The modest drop in job ads is not a major concern, at least not yet. Job ads soared in August and September and some pullback was always seen likely. The lift in job ads over the past three months is still the strongest gain for

an equivalent period in almost two years. It is understandable that employers are still a little cautious to take on more staff. Most likely employers will meet demand by getting staff to work longer hours. Only when the lift in work looks to be sustainable will businesses engage in major hiring programs. The problem is that the cautious employers may pay for their hesitancy, losing out to competitors in snapping up quality staff.´´

The Australian dollar (AUD) rose strongly throughout the day and is currently buying US92.54c.

On the market overall, a total of 2.52 billion shares were traded, worth $5.72 billion. 723 stocks were up, 379 were down, and 324 were unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Share Price Index futures contract is 1.8pct or 83pts stronger to 4684.

No major economic data is expected to be released in the US tonight.