Aussie shares were flat in early trade after mixed leads and are more than one per cent lower at midday.
The S&P/ASX 200 index has lost 49 points and is 4,092. On the futures market the SPI is flat.
Company news
Retailers like JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH), Billabong (ASX:BBG) and Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) are seeing a drop in their share price at midday after the Christmas shopping period, and the market awaits official sales figures from retailers. Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) says sales in clothing meanwhile have so far been dominated by the office market as rain drove many off the high street and into shopping centres. He says the big areas of selling have been in business attire, and department stores like David Jones (ASX:DJS) have been dealing with more unsold stock than usual. He’s expecting shoppers to spend $14.1 billion this week. JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) shares dropped 2.66 per cent and are trading at $11.33.
And Qantas Airways Limited’s (ASX:QAN) low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Japan’s looking for a new shareholder. Mitsubishi’s set to cut its stake in half. The new carrier has set targets of $1 billion in revenues within two years of its launch date late next year, with plans for 24 plans and $150 million in start-up capital. Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) shares have lost 0.67 per cent and are trading at $1.49.
Best and worst performers
The best performing sector is: telcos gaining 15 points to 1,147. Shares in Telecom Corp of NZ have risen 1.96 per cent and trading at $1.56. Shares Telstra are higher and Singtel’s lower.
The worst performer’s materials, losing 206 points to 10,586. Shares in Lynas have dropped 2.4 per cent and trading at $1.13.7. Shares in Bluescope and Incitec are also lower.
New Zealand
The NZSX50 is 26 points higher. Taking a look at the top four stocks by turnover, Chorus is at the top of the list with stock easing 1.61 per cent to $3.06 followed by Telecom, Westpac and ANZ.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,591 an ounce and the Australian dollar is buying $US1.0153.
