Australian stocks: Market lower as resources lose ground

SYDNEY - The Australian stock market closed weaker today, limping into the weekend as the major resources stocks weighed on the local bourse.

At 1615 AEDT close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 6.3 points at 4888.1 while the all ordinaries slipped six points to 4849.4.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the March share price index contract lost 13 points to 4882, on a volume of 34,831 contracts, by 1622 AEDT.

EL&C Baillieu Stockbroking director Richard Morrow said the market lacked direction after the busy reporting season and was dragged slightly lower by the big resources stocks.

"I think people are glad this week is over and they are going to be reassessing their view on a lot of the results that have come out over the last couple of weeks," Mr Morrow said.

"There's a bit of selling pressure in some of the miners, Rio Tinto and BHP, but that generally happens at about March as it is seasonally a weak time."

Rio Tinto closed $1.15 lower at $67.50 and BHP Billiton was down 33 cents at $23.37.

In the US, technology stocks fell for a sixth straight day, pressured by a sell-off in Google, with the Nasdaq Composite Index closing 17.74 points lower at 2249.72.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 33.46 points to 10,972.28.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 6.24 points at 1272.23.

Shares in hearing implant maker Cochlear Ltd shot to a record high after major rival Advanced Bionics Corp voluntarily recalled some of its implants.

Cochlear's stock jumped $6.50 or 13.8 per cent to a record $53.45.

The stock was trading at around $31.00 a year ago.

Elsewhere, retailer Harvey Norman pushed 33 cents or 10.2 per cent higher to $3.56 after reporting an 18.5 per cent rise in interim net profit.

In other retail stocks, Coles Myer was up 15 cents at $9.97.

The company said it was yet to make any decisions on who would be the preferred bidder for its Myer department stores, but there was mounting speculation that a deal with a consortium that included the Myer family was imminent.

The major banks were mixed, with National Australia Bank 10 cents higher at $37.00, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia unchanged at $43.65, Westpac down six cents to $23.37 and the ANZ six cents weaker at $25.95.

Among other financials, Macquarie Bank rallied $1.53 to $61.88 and AMP added three cents to $8.67.

A slightly stronger oil price overnight supported the energy sector with Woodside Petroleum gaining 44 cents to $40.24 while Oil Search climbed six cents higher to $3.67 and Santos lifted by 19 cents to $11.05.

Media stocks were mixed with Fairfax down one cent to $3.91, PBL pulling back seven cents to $17.46, News Corp shedding 19 cents to $23.69 and its non-voting shares off 25 cents to $22.33.

Elsewhere in the news, Queensland Gas Company Ltd shares rose two cents to 83.5 cents after shareholders approved a placement of options to raise $30 million to help fund its takeover of Sydney Gas Co Ltd.

Sydney Gas was up 2.5 cents to 37.5 cents.

John Singleton's advertising and media company STW Communications Group Ltd shares hit their highest level since July 2002, after forecasting a earnings per share (EPS) would double in next five years.

STW rose 19 cents to $3.35.

And Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) shares closed four cents higher to $3.75 after selling its 2.7 per cent stake in toll road owner Transurban Group.

Wheat exporter AWB slipped seven cents to $3.76 as the head of the Cole inquiry into the AWB Iraqi kickbacks scandal was granted an extension to the end of June to report his findings.

- AAP