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However both major indices fell into the red in morning trade, and at midday both the S&P/ASX200 index and the All Ordinaries were down ten points.
The US market reported slight losses on Monday as New York’s manufacturing gauge fell, and oil prices hit a new high. Technology stocks defied the wider market as strong sales for Motion’s Blackberry, and Apple’s iPhone, lifted the sector.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 38 points, while the Nasdaq Composite added 20.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was up 19 points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 21.
In ASX news zinc miner Zinifex said today that it has secured contracts for about 80 per cent of future concentrate production from its Dugald River project in Queensland, easing concerns over the viability of the project.
Zinifex, which yesterday afternoon won shareholder approval for its planned merger with Oxiana, is set to begin trading on a deferred settlement basis under the merged company name of OZ Minerals on June 23.
Meanwhile in economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia this morning released minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting. The RBA’s board said that while the Australian economy was slowing, inflation remained uncomfortable high and the economic outlook was unclear.
The latest minutes are consistent with the widely-held view that the RBA won't hesitate to raise interest rates again if domestic demand gathers fresh momentum.
Finally, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics this morning downgraded its 2008-2009 wheat forecast by almost nine per cent, with many of the country’s major growing regions troubled by below average autumn rainfall.
ABARE said it now estimates an annual yield of 23.7 million tonnes of wheat, down from 25.95 million tonnes predicted in March. However the bureau said there was still optimism for a large winter crop, and it still expected an 82 per cent improvement on last year’s drought-ravaged production.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning resource stocks were mixed at noon. BHP Billiton was up 87 cents, Fortescue Metals added nine, Rio Tinto lost 50 cents, while Woodside Petroleum fell 51.
Banking stocks were also mixed at midday. ANZ put on 11 cents, Commonwealth Bank fell 55, National Australia Bank added 38 cents, Westpac dropped 28.
Other blue chips were mostly negative. AMP and Telstra both sat flat at noon, News Corp fell 31 cents, while Woolworths lost 82.
The US market reported slight losses on Monday as New York’s manufacturing gauge fell, and oil prices hit a new high. Technology stocks defied the wider market as strong sales for Motion’s Blackberry, and Apple’s iPhone, lifted the sector.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 38 points, while the Nasdaq Composite added 20.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was up 19 points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 21.
In ASX news zinc miner Zinifex said today that it has secured contracts for about 80 per cent of future concentrate production from its Dugald River project in Queensland, easing concerns over the viability of the project.
Zinifex, which yesterday afternoon won shareholder approval for its planned merger with Oxiana, is set to begin trading on a deferred settlement basis under the merged company name of OZ Minerals on June 23.
Meanwhile in economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia this morning released minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting. The RBA’s board said that while the Australian economy was slowing, inflation remained uncomfortable high and the economic outlook was unclear.
The latest minutes are consistent with the widely-held view that the RBA won't hesitate to raise interest rates again if domestic demand gathers fresh momentum.
Finally, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics this morning downgraded its 2008-2009 wheat forecast by almost nine per cent, with many of the country’s major growing regions troubled by below average autumn rainfall.
ABARE said it now estimates an annual yield of 23.7 million tonnes of wheat, down from 25.95 million tonnes predicted in March. However the bureau said there was still optimism for a large winter crop, and it still expected an 82 per cent improvement on last year’s drought-ravaged production.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning resource stocks were mixed at noon. BHP Billiton was up 87 cents, Fortescue Metals added nine, Rio Tinto lost 50 cents, while Woodside Petroleum fell 51.
Banking stocks were also mixed at midday. ANZ put on 11 cents, Commonwealth Bank fell 55, National Australia Bank added 38 cents, Westpac dropped 28.
Other blue chips were mostly negative. AMP and Telstra both sat flat at noon, News Corp fell 31 cents, while Woolworths lost 82.
