Local stocks were unable to sustain the recent rally during today’s session, and ended the final trading day of the week in the red. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) snapped a six day winning streak, easing by 15.8pts or 0.3pct to 4853. Over the course of the week, the XAO rose 0.5pct.

It was a big week for the financial industry. Over the weekend the Federal Government announced banking reforms, while a Senate Inquiry into the big four was held during the week. The NAB (NAB) and ANZ (ANZ) also held their Annual General Meetings during the week. ANZ shares fell 0.7pct to $23.59 while the NAB eased by 1.2pct to $24.15 and the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) fell 0.5pct to $50.70. Shares in Westpac (WBC) added 0.2pct to $23.19 while Macquarie Group (MQG) fell 0.4pct to $37.48.

Mining stocks suffered in response to weakness on the London Metals Exchange. Shares in BHP Billiton (BHP) fell 0.8pct to $45.03 while Rio Tinto (RIO) dropped 1.6pct to $85.65 and gold miner Newcrest (NCM) eased by 1.7pct to $40.77.

Telstra (TLS) shares added 0.7pct to $2.77.

James Hardie (JHX) shares fell 1.3pct to $6.68 after the building materials maker lost its case against the corporate regulator ASIC in the NSW Court of Appeals.

Lend Lease (LLC) shares rose 2pct to $8.57 as it denied reports it’s about to finalise the acquisition of the Australian arm of German construction giant Bilfinger Berger.

Hills Holdings (HIL), the manufacturer of the iconic Hills Hoist clothesline, fell 12pct to $1.90 on a profit warning.

Retail stocks were generally higher, David Jones (DJS) gained 2.3pct to $4.52 while Myer Limited (MYR) was up 2.9pct to $3.53.

No economic data was released in Australia today and the Aussie dollar ended the day’s trade at US99.1c, £0.6337 and €74.59c.

On the market overall, a total of 2.51 billion shares were traded, worth $4.9 billion. 593 were up, 520 were down and 391 were unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEDT on the ASX24, the futures contract was at 4759, down 23pts.

Ahead tonight, the Index of Leading Economic Indicators for November is released in the US.

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