Aussie shares retreated from lunchtime highs to finish the day virtually unchanged despite a positive lead from Wall Street. Resources were popular with investors, while the drop in the price of crude saw a sell-off in energy stocks.

In economic news, according to the ABS Australia’s trade deficit doubled in May to $556 million from the previous month as exports fell at a faster rate than imports. The deficit was well ahead of a forecast $125 million drop for the month.

At the close, the All Ords was up 2.9 to 3,875.2, while the ASX/200 had added 3.3 to 3,877.3. Over 2 billion shares, or $3.6 billion had changed hands.

Materials and Resources gained 0.9% as talks between Chinese steelmakers and iron-ore suppliers across the world continued despite reports the China Iron & Steel Association has buckled and accepted price cuts below the 40% they were seeking, but still above the 33% initially negotiated by suppliers.

Rio Tinto gained 0.3% after selling 97% of its shares in London on offer under the rights issue. Rival BHP Billiton added 1.2%.

Fortescue lost 0.5%, while steelmakers Onesteel and Bluescope advanced 1.2% each. Sims Metal was 1.5% stronger.

Gold miners Newcrest and Lihir climbed 3% and 1.7% as gold futures rose 1.5% on the NYMEX.  

The Energy sector dipped 1.6% despite being steady at lunch. Woodside and Santos gave back morning gains to close down 1.9% and 0.3% respectively, while Origin and Oil Search lost 2.7% and 1.3%.

Arrow Energy was one the major losers for the sector, dropping 4%.

Caltex Australia slid 3.8%, while oil field engineering firm Worley Parson retreated 0.7%.

Banks and Financials gained 0.1% as the big four showed mixed results. ANZ and Westpac lost 0.7% and 0.5% with the latter putting an end to its shareholders benefits package after six months of deliberations

NAB put on 0.7%, while CBA slumped 1.9%.

Among the insurers IAG and QBE advanced 0.3% and 0.9%.

Macquarie Group rose 1.5%, while bourse operator ASX lost 1.6%.

Strong gains by sector heavyweights led Property Trusts 2.7% higher. Stockland, GPT and Lend Lease jumped 4.2%, 5.3% and 2.3% respectively.

Westfield and CFS Retail put on 2.6% and 2.4%. Goodman Group were 5.3% dearer at the close as chairman David Clarke resigned from the board.

A 0.2% gain from Wesfarmers wasn’t enough to get Consumer Staples into the black with the sector overall dropping 0.1%. Woolworths dipped 0.6%, while Goodman Fielder climbed 1.5%.

Coca-Cola Amatil added 0.5% as brewers Lion Nathan and Fosters put on 0.1% and 0.2%.

It was a mixed day for Consumer Discretionary stocks, resulting in the sector also only drifting 0.1% lower.

Retailers Harvey Norman and Billabong shed 0.9% each, while JB Hi-Fi rose 0.2%. Pacific Brands jumped 5.9%.

Gamers Tatts and Sky City lost 2% and 1.9%. Aristocrat put on 1.1%.

Of the media stocks, Ten and Newscorp added 2.6% and 1.2%.

The Industrials sector lost 0.9%. Leightons gained 0.2%.  Brambles lost 1.5%, while Toll lost 1.1%.

Macquarie Infrastructure and Auckland International Airport sank 4.3% and 2.3%.

Telstra led Telecommunications 0.2% higher with a 0.6% gain.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 lost 44.1 to be at 9,895.8, the Straits Times Index dipped 7.9 points to 2,344.6 and NZSE50 lost 12.2 to 2,768.2. The Hang Seng 176.9 was at 18,555.6.

Spot gold was trading at US$939.30 per ounce and the Aussie was buying US$0.80395.

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Westpac abolishes benefits package
Westpac Banking Corporation has decided to end the shareholders benefits package due to low take up and increasing costs. The bank said only 10% of shareholders had taken advantage of the package.

At the close, Westpac shares were down 10c to $19.58.

NHF reaffirms guidance
NIB Holdings Limited said its policyholder growth rate for the year ending 30 June was 5.17%, or an extra 18,899 new policies. In April, the company said it was predicting a growth just above 4%.

At the end of the day, NIB Holdings shares were up 3.5c to 92c.

Rio Tinto closes rights issue
Rio Tinto said it received valid acceptances representing almost 97% of the total number of shares the mining giant offered in the rights issue announced last month. The company announced that the Rio Tinto plc rights issue closed for acceptances at 11.00 a.m. London time on Wednesday, 1 July.

At the bell, Rio Tinto shares were up 15c at $51.75.

Constellation brands reports 15% drop in Q1 sales
Constellation Brands reported a post-tax income of $7 million for first quarter of the 2010 financial year, in line with the previous corresponding period. The US-based wine conglomerate also re-affirmed its guidance, saying it expected reported earnings per share to be in the range of 97c to $1.07 per share for FY10, against a loss of $1.40 per share in FY09.

At the finish, CBR was untraded at $1.50.