THE Australian sharemarket declined for a second straight day at the close of trade today, dragged down by miners after commodity prices fell. China’s tightened monetary policy and the downgraded profit guidance by WorleyParsons also contributed to the fall at the bourse. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 31.4 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 4868.1, while the All Ordinaries index declined 31.5 points (0.64 per cent) to 4900.1. On the Sydney Futures Exchange at 1612 AEDT, the March share price index futures contract was 42 points lower at 4849, on 95,788 contracts. “What cast a bit of a pall over the market was no positive lead from around the world, or from commodities, as well as the downgrade from WorleyParsons,” Austock Securities senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said. Engineering and maintenance group WorleyParsons slumped $3.36 (11.4 per cent) to $25.99 after it lowered its 2010 full-year profit guidance, mostly blaming weaker conditions in its US operations. The major miners were weaker after base metals declined overnight, and after China said that it was increasing the amount its banks have to hold in reserves in an effort to cool inflation. BHP Billiton dropped 32c (0.9 per cent) to $43.12 and rival Rio Tinto slipped $1.25 (1.6 per cent) to $77.12. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals fell 10c to $5.11, while aluminium producer Alumina declined 6c (3.1 per cent) to $1.90. Coal miners also fell, with MacArthur Coal slipping 11c (0.9 per cent) to $11.59 and Whitehaven Coal losing 23c (4.2 per cent) to $5.23. Major gold stocks weakened as the spot price of gold in Sydney declined. The spot price was $US1129.50 per fine ounce by 1627 AEDT, down $US24.25 from yesterday's closing price. Lihir Gold fell 8c (2.3 per cent) to $3.34 and Newcrest Mining lost 44c (1.2 per cent) to $36.84. BlueScope Steel was the second-worst performer among the top 50 today, after WorleyParsons, following Fitch Ratings' downward revision of the company's rating. BlueScope fell 12c (3.8 per cent) to $3.06. The company took issue with the revision to BBB from BBB+, saying the company was not consulted and that it was only based on information in the public domain. Other stocks to fall included Incitec Pivot, which lost 12c (3.24 per cent) to $3.58, and Toll Holdings, which declined 29c to $8.80. Mr Heffernan said he still expected the bourse to rise during February. “When we get into the reporting season proper, in late February, we will be well passed 5000 by then,” he said. “A lot of the results will be better than people expected.” Large companies that bucked the negative trend included Woolworths, which gained 12c to $27.91, Telstra, which added 3c to $3.34, and Westfield, which rose 7c to $12.50.

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