A poor lead from Wall Street was ignored by local investors, as perceptions that the US administration would not nationalise US banks and would provide ongoing funding, overshadowed an announcement by the ANZ Bank that it would cut its dividend by 25% this year. A rising oil price and lift in some commodity prices also lifted energy stocks and some resource stocks.
Features of the day were: a hammering to Fortescue Metals’ share price as it returned after a trading halt and the rise in ANZ Bank shares after it announced it would cut its dividend, the first such cut by ANZ since the last recession in 1991. Analysts are mixed as to whether the other big three banks would follow ANZ’s lead, some pointing to better cash positions and less exposure to corporate bad debts by CBA and Westpac.
Asian markets were mostly lower, with no real trends evident today.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index ended the day up 18 points, at 3345.5.
BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) was down 1 cent to $29.00, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) was up 30 cents, or 0.6%, at $46.48, Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG)was hammered as it cancelled plans to offer shares to institutions due to insufficient demand at the share price level agreed by Chinese buyers and fell 20 cents, or 7.1%, to $2.63 and Mirabela Nickel (ASX:MBN)was down 14 cents, at $1.45.
Lihir Gold (ASX:LGL) was down 6 cents, or 1.8%, at $3.29 and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) was down 86 cents, or 2.7%, at $30.43.
Santos (ASX:STO) was up 44 cents, or 3%, at $14.92 and Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) was up 94 cents, or 2.7%, at $35.11.
Macarthur Coal (ASX:MCC) was down 1 cent, or 0.4%, at $2.56, Centennial Coal (ASX:CEY) was up 9.5 cents, at $1.69.5, Arrow Energy (ASX:AOE) was up 12 cents, at $2.69 and Riversdale Coal (ASX:RIV)was down 1 cent, at $2.79.
ANZ Bank (ASX:ANZ) wa up 37 cents, or 3%, at $12.87, after it said it would cut its dividend for the first time since 1991 over rising bad debts and impairment charges, Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA)was up 27 cents, or 0.9%, at $29.40, NAB (ASX:NAB) was up 36 cents, or 2.1%, to $17.69, Westpac (ASX:WBC) was up 28 cents, or 1.7%, to $16.46 and Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) was hammered losing 99 cents, or 5.4%, to $17.38, after it said in a statement that it had no “current plans for a capital raising” from the market.
Retailer Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) was steady at $1.955 and media group News Corp (ASX:NWS) was up 6 cents, or 0.6%, at $10.60.