Aussie shares closed higher Friday despite a fall among commodity stocks in afternoon trade. Industrials rallied, while several sectors hovered around the gain line.  

At the close, the All Ords was up 9.8 to 4,442.7, while the ASX/200 rose 5.9 to 4,435.5. Over 3 billion shares, or $5.7 billion had changed hands.

The Materials and Resources slid 0.1%. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slid 0.2% and 0.3%. It was revealed today their proposed iron ore joint is on target for completion in mid 2010.  Rio also said its iron ore price talks with China were suspended due to the detention of their negotiator in China. 

After a strong start to the day the gold miners fell away despite the price of the precious metal approaching US$1,000 in New York. Newcrest and Lihir were flat, while Sino Gold added 0.7%.

Materials makers Fletcher Building and Boral rose 2.1% and 0.5% respectively.

Macarthur Coal climbed 7.5%, while Fortescue and OZ Minerals shed 1.2% and 1.9%. 

Recycler Sims Group was down 2.1%. Bluescope retreated 1.7%, though rival Onesteel jumped 2.9%.

Energy stocks were mostly trading higher. The sector added 0.5%.

Santos added 1.1%, while coal miner Felix Resources rose 0.3%. Woodside gained 1.3% and Oil Search rose 2.5%.

Caltex lost 0.2% and Origin Energy was off 2%

The Industrials sector was 1.2% higher with strong gains from the major players. Brambles and Leightons picked up 3.5% and 5.1% respectively. Asciano gained 6%.

Macquarie satellite Macquarie Airports lost 2.4%.

Qantas drifted 2.4% lower. Seek, which entered the ASX/S&P top 100 stocks at the expense of Consolidated Media, lost 2.7%.

The Banks and Financials sector was 0.1% higher with gains recorded by the four major banks.

ANZ and CBA rose 0.1% and 1.6%, while Westpac tacked on 0.4%. NAB shed 1.6%.

Insurers were mixed. AXA Asia Pacific and QBE shed 1.2% and 1.3%. IAG climbed 2.3%.

Macquarie Group was 1.1% lower.

Property Trusts, which were heavily sold yesterday, bounced back with a 0.7% gain.

Westfield slipped 0.4%, while Mirvac and Dexus added 3.6% and 4.9%.

Lend Lease fell 5%.

The Consumer Staples dipped 0.1% at the bell due largely to a 1.6% drop from Wesfarmers.

Woolworths went the other way, adding 0.8%. Beverage makers were all relatively flat.

Consumer Discretionary stocks were trading 0.1% higher, with Billabong and David Jones put on 2.2% and 2.9%, while JB Hi-Fi reversed early gains to finish 1.9% below the line.

Of the gamers Crown and Tabcorp rallied 1.9% and 0.6%, while Aristocrat was down 2.4%.

Consolidated Media showed the most strength among the major sector players with a 7% jump.

A 0.3% rise in the price of Telstra shares failed to help the Telecommunications sector higher. It was down 0.2%.

Among Healthcare stocks, CSL rose 1%, while Sonic Healthcare drifted 0.7% lower. The sector put on 0.8%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 slipped 27.5 to 10,187.1, the Straits Times Index shed 7.0 to be at 2,591.4 and NZSE50 put on 6.8 to 3,098.3. The Hang Seng gained 105.7 to 19,867.4.
Spot gold was trading at US$989.00 per ounce and the Aussie was buying US$0.8401.  

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Technology One downgrades guidance
Technology One said it now expects full year profit to be down by 6% to 12% compared to last year. The software company said the reason for the downgrade was a weaker than previously forecast revenue and higher than originally expected expense growth.

At the finish, Technology One shares were down 9.5c to 75c.

BBI enters agreement to reduce debt
Babcock and Brown Infrastructure said it has entered into an interim agreement with a potential cornerstone investor, with the aim of reducing the company’s $10.3bn debt. The company said it entered the agreement with the potential investor to continue to negotiate in good faith the development of the proposed transaction.

By the end of the day, BBI shares were down 1.7c to 6.1c.

Corporate Express first half profit down
Corporate Express Australia reported an 8.8% drop in first half profit to $25.5m versus the previous corresponding period. The office products provider said it is on track to achieve EBIT at the lower end of analysts’ consensus forecasts for the fiscal year ending January 2010.

At the end of Friday, Corporate Express shares were down 13c to $3.90.