Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 9/24/13

AFTERNOON REPORT
(5pm AEST)

The Australian share market ended in the red for a third consecutive session on Tuesday, weighed down by mining stocks and ongoing confusion over the US Central Bank's expected tapering policy.

The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) ended lower by 0.3 per cent to 5229.5pts, with the materials sector down 0.6 per cent and financials off by 0.5 per cent.

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) bucked the downward trend in the materials sector, rising 2.8 per cent to $4.72 after founder and Chairman Andrew Forrest bought more than 5.2 million shares for a total price of $23.6M, taking his ownership to 33 per cent.

In company news, outdoor wear retailer Kathmandu (KMD) defied the retail doom and gloom, posting a near 27 per cent rise in FY13 profit to $39.79 million ($NZ$44.2M). The retailer also upped its final dividend payment to 9 cents per share, taking total FY13 dividend payments to 12 cents per share. KMD shares rose 11.4 per cent to $2.84.

Retailer David Jones (DJS) is due to report its FY13 numbers tomorrow. DJS today fell 1.4 per cent to $2.85. Myer (MYR) traded without rights to its dividend, sending its share price down 4 per cent to $2.65.

On the market overall, a total of 1.5 billion shares changed hands, worth $3.4 billion. 388 were up, 532 were down and 342 were unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEST the SFE 200 Futures Index was at 5242, down 21 points.

The Dow Jones Futures Index is unchanged at 15,326.

Tonight on Wall Street, the Richmond Fed index and consumer confidence are released.

The Australian dollar continues to show resilience, even in the face of no local economic data. At 4.30pm AEST the AUD was buying US94.17c, £0.5871 and €69.75c.

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