The Australian stock market closed flat late trade.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 0.9 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 4,767.8 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 2.5 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 4,853.4 points.

On the ASX, the December share price index futures contract was down five points at 4,773 points, with 77,338 contracts traded, a day ahead of the contract's expiry.

The March 2011 share price index futures contract was down six points at 4,773 points, on volume of 70,345 contracts.

BHP Billiton was down 30 cents at $45.35 and Rio Tinto eased 88 cents, or one per cent, to $87.02.

Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it would spend about $1.058 billion to undertake major works at its Canadian operations in Quebec and British Columbia.

The big four banks, excluding Westpac, were lower.

The bank said at its annual general meeting that it expected the economy to improve in the forthcoming year, but it expects some of the legacies of the global financial crisis will remain with it for some considerable time.

Westpac was up seven cents at $23.07.

National Australia Bank was down six cents at $24.45, ANZ fell 13 cents to $23.82 and Commonwealth gave up 15 cents to $50.50.

Making headlines on Wednesday, CBA head Ralph Norris told a Senate inquiry that Treasurer Wayne Swan never sought an explanation from the Commonwealth Bank's chief executive for controversial November home loan rate increase, despite his angry attacks on the bank.

But Mr Swan told reporters in Sydney he did speak to both Mr Norris and National Australia Bank CEO Cameron Clyne before they raised their rates.

In other news, Origin Energy announced it had bought the retail businesses of NSW government power distributors, Integral Energy and Country Energy, and the output of generator Eraring Energy, for $3.25 billion, which Origin says was a fair price.

Shares in Origin were up 30 cents, or 1.79 per cent, at $17.10.

Among other energy stocks, Woodside backtracked eight cents to $43.28 and Santos eased nine cents to $12.60.

The spot price of gold in Sydney was $1,393.40 per ounce, down $10.38 from Tuesday's local closing price of $1,403.78.

Newcrest Mining was up 45 cents, or 1.1 per cent, at $41.28.

The best performing stock on the S&P/ASX 100 index was CSR, after New Zealand regulators gave the nod to the sale of its sugar and energy business, Sucrogen, to Asian agribusiness Wilmar International Ltd for $1.75 billion.

CSR shares finished seven cents, or 4.11 per cent, firmer at $1.775.

Billabong was the worst performing stock on the S&P/ASX 100 index after the surfwear retailer cut its first half profit guidance.

Its shares were down 79 cents, or 8.89 per cent, at $8.10.

The top traded stock by volume was Mantle Mining, with 144.48 million shares worth $8.62 million changing hands.

Mantle shares soared 2.2 cents, or 57.89 per cent, to six cents after the company announced positive drilling results from its coal exploration program.

National turnover was 2.73 billion shares worth $6.08 billion, with 564 stocks up, 539 down and 381 unchanged.

The Australian dollar pushed back from a rise to parity with the U.S. dollar in Asian trade Wednesday, weighed down by the U.S.

Federal Reserve and local consumer sentiment data.

After rallying for much of the week's start, the Australian dollar faced steady pressure on Wednesday.

Setting off a decline, the Fed in its December policy decision retained its plan to buy $600 billion of bonds, with U.S. dollar buyers taking heart from a subsequent rise in U.S. Treasury yields.

From there, the Australian dollar was hit by a report showing some weakness in the mood among Australian consumers.

Though consumer sentiment rose 0.2% in December from November, according to Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute, the figure was down 2.4% from a year earlier.

The small rise from last month was well short of erasing a 5.3% plunge posted in November even as the country's unemployment rate dipped to 5.2% last month.

The Australian dollar traded at $0.9950, down from $0.9955 late Tuesday.

The pair rallied into the Fed decision, hitting $1.0022 before the subsequent sell off.

Against the Japanese yen, the currency traded at 83.45, up from 83.075.

Still, late in Asian trading the Australian dollar picked up slightly from its decline.

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