The Australian share market remains in negative territory at midday, following a disappointing lead from Wall Street, with the miners leading the losses on weaker commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX200 index is 29 points lower at 4,844 and on the futures market the SPI200’s down 27 points.
In economic news: A report shows investor confidence has fallen unexpectedly on mixed signals about the global economic recovery. The Investment and Financial Services Association CoreData Investor Sentiment index fell to a read of 2.9 points in the first quarter of 2010 from 7.4 points in the last quarter of 2009. The index had risen three of the four quarters in 2009. In company news: Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) CEO Tom Albanese is in China to tell senior leaders that the miner is prepared to boost investment in the country. In a bid to repair relations with its biggest customer, Mr Albanese will offer to expand minerals exploration in China and enter more joint ventures with shareholder, Chinalco. He will also stress that a healthy relationship with the country is vital to Rio’s continued success. Shares in Rio Tinto are down 1.3% at $75.20.
ANZ Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) has announced completion of its acquisition of The Royal Bank of Scotland’s retail and commercial businesses in Hong Kong. The company has also launched a new service known as ANZ Signature Priority Banking, which is to be rolled out across Asia Pacific over the next 18 months. ANZ says the new service is designed to meet the needs of affluent retail customers, with assets of over HK$1 million to invest. The first branch is set to open in Central Hong Kong at the International Finance Centre. Shares in ANZ are down 0.56% at $24.97.
Turning now to market indices: The best performing sector at midday is the Telco Services index, up 4 points at 1.082. Shares in Telecom of New Zealand rose 0.91% to $1.66. Shares in SingTel and Telstra were also higher at noon.
The worst performing sector is the Materials index, down 167 points to 12,542. Shares in Incitec Pivot are down 3.39% to $3.42. Shares in Lihir Gold and Alumina are also lower at midday.
Looking to New Zealand and the NZSX50 is 2 points lower. Taking a look at the top 4 stocks by turnover: First in the list is Telecom of New Zealand, stock is up 1.42% at $2.14, followed by Kathmandu Holdings, Fletcher Building and ANZ Bank.
To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at US$1,105.85 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 91.34 US cents.
