Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon January 13, 2015

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York July 14, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY)

Market retreats for a second session

 The market has managed to recover some of its earlier losses to finish the session in the middle of the day's range - helped by better-than-expected Chinese trade data. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipped 17 points or 0.3 percent to 5,382, while the ASX 200 (XJO) lost 18 points or 0.3 percent to 5,404. Eight out of the 10 sectors closed lower.

 The energy sector was again hit the hardest - down 1.7 percent, as oil prices fell further in Asian trade. Overnight, Brent crude dropped 5.3 percent to US$47.43 a barrel, while US Nymex crude slid 4.7% to US$46.07 a barrel. Oil Search (OSH) shares slipped 2.2 percent to $7.14, while Santos (STO) lost 1.1 percent to $7.21.

 Resource stocks also dragged the market lower, with the materials sector falling 0.9 percent. BHP Billiton (BHP) retreated 1.9 percent to $27.97, while Fortescue Metals (FMG) tumbled 5.2 percent to $2.55.

 Gold stocks were again a bright spot. Newcrest Mining (NCM) jumped 3.8 percent to $12.95, while Evolution Mining (EVN) climbed 9 percent to 91 cents.

 In company news, shares in Energy Resources Australia (ERA) fell 1.6 percent to $1.27. The uranium miner posted a 19 percent rise in production during the September quarter. However, production is still down 61 percent over the past year.

 In economic news, the ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose by 0.3 percent last week, to a 4-week high of 112.0 - above the 2014 average of 111.3.

 Meantime, China's trade surplus narrowed from US$54.47 billion to US$49.1 billion in December. Exports were up 9.9 percent over the year, compared with a forecast of +6.8 percent. While imports fell 2.3 percent, versus expectations of a 7.4 percent decline.

 The Australian dollar was boosted by the rele

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