Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 11/7/13

EVENING REPORT
(5pm AEDT)

The Australian share market closed in negative territory today, although off its earlier lows, weighed down by a number of big name financial stocks which traded without rights to their dividends. It was a different story on Wall Street, where solid buying in blue chip stocks lifted the Dow Jones Index to a record high.

By close, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) was down 10.6pts or 0.2 per cent to 5415.4pts after being as low as 5403.9pts.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) lost $1.21 today as it pays out a 97c fully franked dividend to shareholders. The ANZ (ANZ) is paying a 91c dividend and fell $1.42. Shares in the Bank of Queensland (BOQ) dropped 21c as shareholders receive a 30c dividend.

Elsewhere, Fairfax Media (FXJ) shares fell 0.9 per cent to 57c as the media company held its AGM, warning advertising markets are still tough. FXJ expects FY14 costs of around $1.6 billion and says year-to-date revenue is down six per cent.

In economic news, employment rose by 1,100 in October after a revised 3,300 lift in jobs in September (previously reported as a 9,100 increase in jobs). Full-time jobs fell by 27,900 in October and part-time jobs rose by 28,900. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.7 per cent in October from an upwardly-revised level of 5.7 per cent in September. The participation rate was steady at 64.8 per cent.

1.9 billion shares changed hands today, worth $6.3 billion. 458 were up, 468 were down and 368 were unchanged.

The Aussie dollar dropped on the jobs data to US94.8c.

Ahead tonight, the social media network Twitter $TWTR, will debut on the New York Stock Exchange at US$26 per share. That values the company at US$18.3 billion.

The European Central Bank and ECB will hand down their monetary policy decisions.

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