Local stocks tracked sideways today, however the marginal gain was enough to make it five wins in a row for the local share market. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gained 2.5pts or 0.1pct to close at 4853.4, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) firmed by 0.9pts to 4767.8.

Financial stocks were flat. Reserve Bank Governor Guy Debelle told a banking conference in Sydney today that Australia’s exposure to the volatility experienced in global financial markets has decreased. Shares in Westpac (WBC) gained 0.3pct to $23.07 while the NAB (NAB) fell 0.2pct to $24.45 and the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) eased by 0.3pct to $50.50. Shares in the ANZ (ANZ) lost 0.5pct to $23.82 while Macquarie Group (MQG) was up 0.6pct to $37.26.

The big miners slumped in response to general weakness on the London Metals Exchange. Shares in index leader BHP Billiton (BHP) fell 0.7pct to $45.35 while Rio Tinto (RIO) was weaker by 1pct to $87.02. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) added 0.3pct to $6.78. Gold miner Newcrest (NCM) bucked the trend, up 1.1pct to $41.28 as the price of gold held above US$1400 an ounce in Asian trade.

Energy stocks generally fared well, with the sector adding 0.2pct. Shares in Origin Energy (ORG) gained 1.8pct to $17.10 as it defended the $2.3 billion dollar cost of buying Integral Energy and Country Energy under the NSW privatisation scheme. Shares in AGL Energy (AGK) fell a further 1.1pct to $14.91 as the company failed to snap up any of the assets. Caltex (CTX) added 1.3pct to $14.30 while Oilsearch (OSH) firmed by 1.3pct to $7.02.

Telstra (TLS) shares added 1.1pct to $2.77.

Retail stocks were mixed. Surf-wear company Billabong (BBG) joined the list of retailers issuing profit downgrades in the wake of sluggish sales. BBG announced that it expected 1H net profit to be 8-13pct down on the prior corresponding half, due to weak sales and a stronger Australian dollar. BBG shares eased by 8.9pct to $8.10 while Myer Limited (MYR) dropped 1.1pct to $3.46. Shares in Harvey Norman (HVN) added 1pct to $3.02 while David Jones (DJS) gained 1.9pct to $4.36.

The ACCC today indicated it would not block the planned $8.4 billion takeover of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) by the Singapore Exchange. Shares in ASX closed steady at $38.50.

The Westpac/Melbourne Institute index of consumer confidence rose marginally in the latest month as strong employment growth and the rally in equity markets helped to offset the November interest rate hike. The index rose by 0.3pct to a level of 111 in December.

Australian new car sales tracked rose modestly in November. Car sales rose by 0.2pct in November after a 0.5pct fall in October. Passenger car sales rose by 1.1pct in the month. Sales of SUVs fell by 0.8pct in November. However over the past year more than 236,300 SUVs have been sold, the best result in records going back 16 years.

The Australian dollar ended the day’s trade at US99.46c after reaching parity during New York trade. The Aussie was also worth £0.6313 and €74.53c.

On the market overall, a total of 2.64 billion shares were traded, worth $5.5 billion. 564 were up, 539 were down and 381 were unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEDT on the ASX24, the futures contract was at 4769, down 9pts.

Ahead tonight; data on consumer prices, industrial production and capacity utilisation is released in the US.

More from IBT Markets:

Get this delivered to your inbox.

Follow us on Twitter.

Like us on Facebook.