Australian Stock Market Report –Afternoon 1/17/14

AFTERNOON REPORT
(5pm AEDT)

The Australian share market closed slightly lower today as the banks and miners fought it out. Some great gains from the likes of BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) were offset by falls in the banking sector and from retail stocks. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the day's session lower by 3 points or 0.1 per cent to 5316.4 points.

Despite big falls on Tuesday, the XAO ended the trading week steady, while the ASX 200 was down just 0.1 per cent on the week. So far over the calendar year, Australian stocks are down 0.7 per cent.

One of today's biggest movers was Super Retail Group (SUL) which closed lower by 14.2 per cent today to $10.79 after announcing a disappointing sales result. The result also weighed down the consumer discretionary sector, dragging on other retail stocks, with the sector closing lower by almost two per cent today.

Economy-wide spending has continued to grow at a healthy, sustainable pace according to a new survey. The Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI) - a measure of economy-wide spending - rose by 0.9 per cent in trend terms in December. This was the 16th consecutive month of spending growth. The more volatile seasonally adjusted estimate of spending rose by 0.4 per cent in December after a 0.2 per cent increase in November and a 4 per cent rise in October - the first consecutive three monthly lift in spending in nine months. Annual growth rose from 9.4 per cent to 10.6 per cent in December.

On the market overall, a total of 1.7 billion shares changed hands, with a market value of $4.1 billion. 447 were up, 469 were down and 358 were unchanged.

The Australian dollar ended the week at a three year low against the greenback, worth US88.16c. It is also at an eight year low against the Kiwi, buying NZ94.17c.

At 4.3pm AEDT the SFE 200 Futures Index was at 5266, down 5 points.

Ahead tonight, retail sales, housing starts and industrial production are released in the US.

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