Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 6/3/13

MID-SESSION REPORT

(12.30pm AEST)

The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the session in the red, following a tough end to the week in global markets. The ASX 200 Index (XJO) is down 0.1 per cent; however things could have been worse following a 1.3 per cent slump across the US on Friday.

Plenty of economic data released this morning. The HSBC Final Manufacturing PMI in China has fallen from 49.6 to 49.2, which was worse than expected. Retail trade in Australia rose by just 0.2 per cent in April, company profits jumped by 3 per cent in the March quarter while inflation is at just 2.2 per cent for the year.

The mining and energy sectors were amongst the few improvers in May, partly thanks to a weaker Australian dollar. Today is somewhat different however, with our two largest miners, BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) down by at least 1.5 per cent. Oil and gold prices slumped on Friday night.

The major banks are doing more than their fair share at lunch, with Westpac (WBC) up 2.65 per cent, while National Australia Bank (NAB) is up 2.1 per cent. Both Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) are up by more than 1 per cent. Keep in mind that despite a strong start to the year, the financials had their worst month in a year over May. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index slumped by 8.92 per cent over the month.

Telstra (TLS), Australia's sixth biggest company is extending its losing streak to four days, with its shares down 1.3 per cent. TLS issued a statement to the market this morning that it doesn't see material risk from asbestos lining pits and pipes of its network as was mentioned in an AFR article. TLS is still up by 7.1 per cent this year.

Inner ear implant maker, Cochlear (COH) is down 11.95 per cent after saying its half year sales were weaker ahead of a new product's "...much anticipated launch and slower market growth in the USA. Cochlear now expects Net Profit After Tax for the full year of between $130 and $135 million."

At lunch, 642.8 million shares have changed hands, worth $1.7 billion. 225 stocks are higher, 498 are in the red and 292 are unchanged.

[Kick off your trading day with our newsletter]