With little direction offered by subdued offshore leads the Australian share market opened slightly higher however has slipped in early trade to be 0.2 per cent down at noon, with investors cooling their heels as they await clarity from the US Federal Reserve on its stimulus direction. Financials are propping the market at this stage, while the Australian dollar has fallen below 89 US cents for the first time in four months as Fed expectations also continue to weigh on the currency.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 0.5 points down at 5,103. On the futures market the SPI is 9 points higher.
Economic news
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index of Economic Activity slipped to 1.11 per cent in November, down from 1.24 per cent in October. The growth rate in the leading index has been above trend for the last 12 months, Westpac found.
Company news
Ten Network Holdings Limited
(ASX:TEN) chief Hamish McLennan says although the network's ratings performance in 2013 was unacceptable, its strategy is working, evidenced by a five per cent increase in the number of 25- to 54-year-olds watching the network between 7.30pm and 10.30pm. Meanwhile chairman Lachlan Murdoch is backing the relatively new chief executive to manage his dual roles of heading Ten while being a non-executive chairman at REA Group, following calls for him to resign from the real estate company. Shares in Ten network are trading flat at $0.28.
CFS Retail Property Trust
(ASX:CFX) has entered into a trading halt ahead of announcing plans to raise as much as $280 million in new capital to buy back its own management rights. The fully underwritten institutional placement will be combined with a debt and a security purchase plan to purchase the rights from the Commonwealth Bank Limited
(ASX:CBA) for $460 million. Shares in CFS last traded at $1.90.
Best and worst performers The best performing sector is Financials excluding real estate investment trusts gaining 18 points to 6,636. Shares in QBE Insurance Group Limited
(ASX:QBE) have risen 2.02 per cent and trading at $10.37. Shares in Challenger Limited
(ASX:CGF) and Platinum Asset Management Limited
(ASX:PTM) are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is Consumer staples, falling 72 points to 9,617. Shares in Wesfarmers Limited
(ASX:WES) have fallen 1.61 per cent, trading at $41.88. Shares in Metcash Limited
(ASX:MTS) and Treasury Wine Estates Limited
(ASX:TWE) are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,234 an ounce and the Australian dollar is buying $US0.8924.
