After opening slightly higher, the Australian share market has slipped into the red at midday following a lack of direction from offshore trading.
The S&P/ASX200 index is 5 points lower at 4,892 and on the futures market, the SPI200 is down 14.
In company news: Internet service provider iiNet Ltd (ASX:IIN) has requested a trading halt for the second time in a fortnight to allow it to prepare an announcement regarding a material acquisition. On March 11, the company was forced to issue a share suspension to respond to media speculation that it was going to take over rival Netspace for between $60 and $75 million. The company confirmed it was in talks with Netspace about a possible acquisition, but said the figure quoted was well below the price being discussed. Shares in iiNet last traded at $2.45.
Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX:MCC) has confirmed its full year sales forecast after lifting a force majeure declaration on shipments from North Queensland’s Dalrymple Bay. Rail services to Dalrymple Bay and port services at the terminal were disrupted by cyclone Ului, which affected the Queensland coast early this month. Despite the force majeure declaration on March 19, the company is maintaining its full year coal sales forecast of 4.8 to 5 million tonnes in fiscal 2010. Shares in Macarthur Coal are steady at $11.70.
Turning now to market indices: The best performing sector at midday is the Real Estate Investment Trust index, up 4 points at 871. Shares in Mirvac rose 2.06% to $1.485. Shares in Stockland and Westfield were also higher at noon.
The worst performing sector is the Energy index, down 105 points to 15,834. Shares in Caltex have lost 1.41% to $11.20, while shares in Centennial Coal and Aquila Resources are also lower at midday.
Looking to New Zealand and the NZSX50 is 9 points higher. Taking a look at the top 4 stocks by turnover: First in the list is Telecom of New Zealand, stock is up 0.94% at $2.14, followed by, Infratil, ANZ Bank and Fletcher Building.
To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at US$1,107.10 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 90.62 US cents.
