Australian markets

The Australian share market closed lower as investors ignored a positive lead from United States markets and pulled back from the resources sector. At the close on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was off 40.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 4,767.8 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index shed 39.3 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 4,863.2 points. On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was 35 points lower at 4,771 points, with 37,280 contracts traded.

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In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton retreated 59 cents to $46.00 and Rio Tinto dumped $1.53 to $82.38. OZ Minerals lost 3.5 cents to $1.575 after it said it would acquire the Carrapateena copper-gold project in South Australia for $US250 million. Shares in Eagle Eye Metals soared seven cents, or 107.69 per cent, to 13.5 cents after the minerals exploration tiddler announced it would acquire West African gold projects through the recommended takeover of Birimian Gold Ltd. Gold miner Newcrest fell $1.01 to $38.30. Gold miner Catalpa Resources firmed two cents to $1.64 after it posted a maiden first half profit on the back of record production of the precious metal from its two Australian mines.

The spot price of gold in Sydney was $1,424.60 per fine ounce, down $5.35 from Tuesday's local close of $1,429.95. Among the major banks, National Australia Bank was down 22 cents at $25.08 as chief executive Cameron Clyne said there was a strong probability that there would be an increase in the number of small to medium businesses looking to borrow funds by the end of the year. ANZ was steady at $23.77, Commonwealth Bank slipped 31 cents to $51.50 and Westpac surrendered 12 cents to $23.37. Among other stocks, national airline Qantas nudged up one cent to $2.34 after it said it would increase fuel surcharges on international tickets in response to climbing oil and jet fuel prices. Preliminary national turnover was 3.29 billion securities worth $5.29 billion, with 761 stocks down, 418 up and 390 unchanged. On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 124.35 points, or one per cent, to 12,214.38 points.

The Australian dollar inched lower Wednesday as local reports on housing and consumer sentiment both disappointed. Australian bonds inched lower as gains after the weak data weren't enough to overcome a broad overnight slide. Early in Wednesday action, a widely watched index of consumer confidence in Australia fell to a 9-month low damped by rising fuel prices and concerns about new tax proposals. At the same time, news from the housing sector was also poor in January, with housing finance falling 4.5% from December as floods in Queensland disrupted the industry, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The Australian dollar was changing hands at $1.0064, down from $1.0122 late Tuesday, around its lowest levels in two weeks. Against the Japanese yen, the unit traded at 83.41, from 83.24.

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