Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 8/9/13

MID-SESSION REPORT
(12pm AEST)

The Australian sharemarket is in the red for the fourth time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index down 0.3 per cent or 15.8 pts to 5,031.3. Over the past five days, the market has given back all of last week's 1.5 per cent improvement. At its best, local shares were up 0.2 per cent in early trade.

On a positive note, the miners are shooting higher at lunch, with BHP Billiton (BHP) trading at a five-month high while iron ore miner, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) is at its best level in four months. These gains are helping to balance out what otherwise would have been a bloodbath at lunch. Over the past few years, BHP has struggled to crack through and remain above $38 per share for more than a few days at a time. FMG is expected to deliver its latest profit results in a fortnight.

The banks are currently the biggest drag on trade, with the big four accounting for 10pts of today's losses. National Australia Bank (NAB) is down by 0.8 per cent, while Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ Bank are down by between 0.5-0.7 per cent.

On the economic front, the Reserve Bank said it expects the Australian economy to grow by 2.5 per cent in 2013/14; matching Treasury's forecast.

If you're an economic data enthusiast, today is an exciting session. Our largest trading partner, China, has a barrage of economic readings out. At 11.30am (AEST), Chinese inflation figures were issued and show that prices are unlikely to be a huge concern for officials. Consumer inflation (CPI) is up 2.7 per cent over the year while business inflation (PPI) slipped by a more than expected 2.3 per cent. This afternoon, industrial production and retail spending will be out at 3.30pm (AEST).

On the reporting front, gaming company, Tabcorp (TAH) announced a 63 per cent fall in full-year profit to $127 million. The end of its Victorian gaming machine licence a negative for the stock. TAH shares are down 3.5 per cent today, however are still up 6.2 per cent.

At lunch, 791m shares have been traded, worth $1.84bn. 371 stocks are higher, 396 are in the red and 261 are unchanged.

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