MARKET TALK: S&P/ASX 200 Near Flat; Cyclicals Underperforming

9th Jun 2010 03:27

0227 GMT [Dow Jones] S&P/ASX 200 near flat at 4381.7 after bouncing off an intraday low of 4361.3. Offshore markets have pared some of their intraday falls, with Nikkei down 0.5%, S&P 500 futures down 0.2%. However, cyclical stocks are generally weak, with Westpac (WBC.AU) down 1.0%, BHP (BHP.AU) down 0.5%, Rio Tinto (RIO.AU) down 1.4%. Brambles (BXB.AU) down 3.2% after recent contract loss led Macquarie to downgrade to Underperform. Defensives propping the market up, with Telstra (TLS.AU) up 0.6%, CSL (CSL.AU) up 2.0%, Woolworths (WOW.AU) up 1.1%, Foster's (FGL.AU) up 1.8%, AGL (AGL.AU) up 1.7%. "This is not a market that's convinced we've seen the worst," says IG Markets Institutional Trader Chris Weston. "Any bad news out of Europe or China could have people reaching for the sell button. People want to invest in Australian and U.S. equities but they're not convinced about the global outlook." ([email protected]) Contact us in Singapore. 65 64154 140; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 08, 2010 22:27 ET (02:27 GMT)