Australian shares traded lower for most of the day, before a late rally helped the market stay close above the line. The heavyweight stocks in each sector, with the exception of consumer staples, were little changed in a quiet day’s trade.

In economic news, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics personal finance commitments dropped 1.5% from $7.06 billion in September to a seasonally adjusted $6.95 billion in October. In the same period, commerical finance fell 16.3% and housing finance for owner occupation was down 1.7%, while lease finance increased 0.5%.

At the end of the day, the All Ords rose 16.8 to 4,668.2, while the ASX/200 climbed 18.8 to 4,654.0. About 2.1 billion shares worth around $3.7 billion had changed hands.

Consumer Staples stocks traded 1.4% higher on the back of positive consumer data released in the US on Friday.
 
Woolworths gained 44c to $27.27, while Wesfarmers advanced 36c to $29.59.

Foster’s added 9c to $5.48 and Coca-Cola Amatil tacked on 20c, 1.8% to $11.20 following a strong lead from its parent company in the US.

Despite a late buying spree on the banks, NAB still lost ground, shedding 24c, or 0.9% to $27.97.

Overall the Banks and Financials sector gained 0.1% as weakness from the insurers outweighed a subdued performance from the other banks.

CBA added 30c, or 0.6% to sit at $52.80. Investment bank Macquarie Group lost 29c to $47.60.

Meanwhile, AXA Asia Pacific was 10c, or 1.7% lower at $5.72 as investors booked profits following the insurer receiving a 16% increased takeover offer from AMP and AXA SA.

AMP shares were flat, while Suncorp Metway slid 1.4% to $8.54.

A 21c, or 1.8% rise to $12.13 from Westfield led the Property Trust sector to a 0.9% gain.

The Materials and Resources sector bounced back from being 0.4% down at lunch to finish 0.6% above the line

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were close to their overnight lows at $40.65 and $70.51 respectively. Reports surfaced that Chinese steel mills would strengthen their ties with Brazilian miner Vale following the tie-up of iron ore assets between the two Aussie miners in the Pilbara.

Gold stocks tracked the price of the metal lower. An increase in US retail sales strengthened the greenback on the expectation of a sooner than anticipated rise in interest rates.

Lihir and Newcrest rose 2c and 16c to $3.26 and $35.18.

Alumina rallied 6.4% to $1.665 after Credit Suisse upgraded its rating on the stock to “outperform”, citing an expected reinstated dividend due to a stronger balance sheet.

The company also announced the expansion of the alumina refinery in northern Brazil by more than double to 3.6 million tonnes per annum.

OneSteel put on 8c to $3.05 following a price target upgrade from Deutsche Bank in reports this morning. Rival Bluescope added 7c to $2.86.

The Energy sector dipped 0.4% as crude futures fell to a two-month low.

Woodside shares were halted at $47.18 prior to the commencement of trade after the company announced it would tap the market for $2.5 billion in a move aimed at strengthening its balance sheet and facilitating the ongoing development of LNG deposits. 

Santos dropped 19c, or 1.4% to $13.56, while WorleyParsons slid 33c to $27.67.

Karoon Gas outperformed, climbing 5.7% to $8.67. Its shares have jumped by as much as 18% in the last two days.

It was a better afternoon for the Consumer Discretionary sector, which reversed morning losses to finish 0.5% above the line.

Gamer Crown and retailer David Jones were the major losers, down 0.9% and 1.5% to $7.69 and $5.42 respectively.
 
Gains among the airliners boosted the Industrials sector, which finished 0.6% above the line.

Qantas rallied 3.5% to $2.67 after announcing an increase to fares, while Virgin Blue jumped 3.7% to 56c.

Asciano was the only major within the sector to move of any note. Its shares were 2.5c, or 1.4% lower at $1.745.

Telstra continued its recent run of good form, up 3c to $3.50 as the Telecommunications sector gained 0.9%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 fell 44.2 to 10,063.7, while the Straits Times Index dipped 1.0 to 2,799.7. Meanwhile, the NZSE50 lost 29.2 to 3,098.8. The Hang Seng rallied 19.7 to 21,921.9.

Spot gold was trading at US$1,124.50 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9107.

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AXA APH receives increased offer
AMP and AXA SA have increased their offer for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings after the original proposal on 9 November 2009 was rejected. Under the revised proposal, AXA APH shareholders would receive a fixed cash component of $1.92 per share rather than a variable cash component of about $1.38, on top of the 0.6896 AMP shares originally offered.

At the end of the day, AXA Asia Pacific shares were down 10c to $5.72, while AMP shares were unchanged at $6.23.

Woodside sets out to raise $2.5bnWoodside Petroleum Limited (WPL), which had avoided tapping the market for extra funds as it battled through the worst of the GFC, has this morning announced a $2.5 billion capital raising. Woodside said the funds raised would strengthen the company’s balance sheet and facilitate the ongoing development of LNG deposits, including an expansion of Pluto, and new work at Browse and Sunrise off Australia’s north-west shelf.

Woodside remained halted at $47.18.