MARKET TALK: S&P/ASX 200 Flat After Futures Expiry

17th Jun 2010 01:51

0051 GMT [Dow Jones] S&P/ASX 200 flat at 4557.7 after June SPI 200 futures expiry boosts volume, albeit within a tight range, this morning. Resources unwinding some of Wednesday's strength, with BHP (BHP.AU) down 0.8%, Rio (RIO.AU) down 0.8%, although Fortescue (FMG.AU) up 0.9%, Newcrest (NCM.AU) up 0.9%. Banks are mixed, with NAB (NAB.AU) down 0.4%, ANZ (ANZ.AU) up 0.2%. QBE (QBE.AU) down 1.3% after trimming its profit margin guidance. James Hardie (JHX.AU) down 2.6% on disappointing U.S. housing starts. Leighton (LEI.AU) up 3.0% after A$1.5 billion of contract wins. "We could get some offshore leads later today because there just seems to be a whiff of positive sentiment after Wall Street broke higher this week," says BBY Senior Institutional Trader Peter Copeland. "I'd like to be positive and I think the market wants to be positive but I'm just not sure if it's time to spend a dollar. Turnover has been very light, so unless you get northern market sentiment in the northern hemisphere taking off, you might see local traders remaining cautious." ([email protected]) Contact us in Singapore. 65 64154 140; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 16, 2010 20:51 ET (00:51 GMT)