Aussie stocks are flat at midday, the miners are posting gains on stronger commodity prices however weakness in the financial and healthcare sectors is limiting momentum.
The S&P/ASX200 index is down 2 points at 4,685 and on the futures market, the SPI200 is steady.
In local economic news: Figures released by the ABS show that Australia’s unemployment rate remained at 5.1% in September, unchanged from the month before. A rise of 55,800 full time jobs caused the Aussie dollar to jump half a US cent, the news likely to put further pressure on the RBA to lift rates next month.
To company news: Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX:BOQ) is to offer an online share trading service with CMC Markets as early as next year. According to an Australian Associated Press report, BOQ Trading will allow the banks customers access to CMC’s range of stockbroking services through the banks website. Shares in Bank of QLD are 0.09% lower at $11.19.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) CEO Gail Kelly has been named one of the most powerful women in the world by Forbes Magazine. Ms Kelly come in 8th in Forbes top 10 most powerful women in the world, beating US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and singer Beyonce. Michelle Obama topped the list, Kraft Foods boss Irene Rosenfeld in second and Oprah Winfrey came in third place. Shares in Westpac are 0.77% lower at $23.24.
Turning now to market indices: The best performing sector at midday is Materials, with the index up 90 points to 13,014. Shares in Mirabela Nickel are up 9.2% to $1.84. Shares in Intrepid Mines and Sandfire Resources are also higher.
The worst performing sector at midday is Financials excluding Real Estate Investment Trusts, with the index down 29 points to 5,151. Shares in QBE Insurance Group are 1.03% weaker at $17.30. Shares in IAG and Westpac are also lower at noon.
To New Zealand now, the NZSX50 is down 5 points. Taking a look at the top 4 stocks by turnover: Telecom of New Zealand heads the list, stock 0.49% lower at $2.04 followed by Westpac, ANZ, and Fletcher Building.
To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at $1346 US an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 98.43 US cents.
