January 05 2010, 5:14PM
CommSec chief equities economist Craig James said the only factor holding the Australian bourse back was the appreciation of the Australian dollar overnight, "so those companies which have a large degree of earnings from overseas are in the red today".
Gold stocks performed strongly.
Lihir was five cents higher at $3.35, Newcrest was up 72 cents, or two per cent, at $36.72 and AngloGold Ashanti had appreciated 15 cents, or 1.67 per cent, to $9.15.
Newmont bucked the trend, easing six cents to $5.28.
At 1659 AEDT, the spot price of gold in Sydney was $US1,123.50 per fine ounce, up $US20.23 from Monday's local close of $US1,103.27.
The `big four' banks were stronger. Commonwealth Bank was up 83 cents at $55.70, National Australia Bank had risen 35 cents to $27.75, Westpac had gained 21 cents to $25.51 and ANZ had added 11 cents to $23.00.
Making headlines on Tuesday, New Zealand-based discount retailer Warehouse Group said it expected net profit after tax for the first half of fiscal 2010 to be "similar" to the prior corresponding period.
Its shares were steady at $3.35.
Gold, copper and uranium explorer Trafford Resources has moved to keep its 50 per cent stake in IronClad Mining as the iron ore explorer prepares to develop its first mine in South Australia.
Shares in Trafford had risen 4.5 cents, or 4.43 per cent, to $1.06, while IronClad shares had eased eight cents, or 6.9 per cent, to $1.08.
Retail stocks were mixed. Coles owner Wesfarmers was up 41 cents at $31.67, Woolworths had eased 17 cents to $27.96, David Jones had fallen seven cents to $5.22 and JB Hi-Fi had backtracked 49 cents, or 2.19 per cent, to $21.86.
The most traded stock by volume was drilling services provider Boart Longyear, with 122.57 million shares worth $46.38 million changing hands.
Shares in Boart Longyear were up 2.5 cents, or 6.76 per cent, at 39.5 cents.
Preliminary national turnover was 2.15 billion shares worth $3.7 billion, with 743 stocks up, 370 down and 336 unchanged.
