SYDNEY, Jan 22: Australian shares ended a volatile trading day flat, retreating from a fresh 20-month high hit earlier on Tuesday with the Bank of Japan’s asset buying plans to stimulate the economy failing to bolster investor confidence as they had been largely factored in.
‘Right up until the Bank of Japan decision people were in a holding pattern,’ said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG Markets. ‘We traded in Australia above 4,800 and then there was position squaring going into the Bank of Japan meeting given the expectations that were built in.’
The S&P/ASX 200 index finished the day 1.6 points higher at 4,779.1, after peaking at 4,801.7 during trade. The benchmark inched up 0.1 percent to hit a 20-month high of 4,777.5 on Monday.
The Bank of Japan doubled its inflation target to 2 percent and eased monetary policy further, a widely expected move in response to relentless political pressure for bolder action to pull the country out of deflation.
Weston said investors were taking profits off the table.
‘The volatility now is just surrounded by what we’ve seen,’ he said.
Global miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd were up 0.1 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.
Gold finished the day weaker as the metal remained flat. Newcrest Mining Ltd slipped 0.2 percent. Perseus Mining Ltd lost 5.9 percent on the back of a disappointing production report which showed gold production was 13 percent below revised production guidance range for the quarter.
Banks were mixed. National Australia Bank dropped 1 percent on a report that Spanish bank Santander denied speculation it is interested in buying NAB’s troubled British banks. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group slipped 0.1 percent. Australia’s top lender the Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.6 percent, while Westpac Banking Corp finished flat.
The defensive sector was mostly firmer. Telecommunications provider Telstra inched up 0.2 percent. Supermarket retailer Woolworths Ltd climbed 1.1 percent. Blood products maker CSL Ltd, bucked the trend, easing 0.4 percent.
New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index also finished flat, up 1.9 points to 4,187.1.
(AGENCIES)
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