The share market has closed almost unchanged as investors paused ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.
IG chief market strategist Chris Weston said it was a very quiet session on the market, with volumes low.
“It’s the sound of silence going through the market. There’s not really a lot going on,” he said.
“US futures are doing absolutely nothing today. Oil and gold are basically unchanged because futures have an early finish tonight and US equities don’t even open.”
Investors are focused on US equity and bond markets at the moment as they debate what impact US president-elect Donald Trump will have on the US economy.
“Given all the talking points and all the craziness that’s going on, I think it’s probably quite welcome that everyone can have a chance to catch their breath,” Mr Weston said.
Rio Tinto added 15 cents to $60.30, as it said it plans to ramp up productivity to generate an extra $5 billion in free cashflow over the next five years.
BHP Billiton was steady at $25.91 and Fortescue Metals eased eight cents to $6.22.
Gold miner Evolution Mining dropped 10.5 cents, or 5.1 per cent, to $1.955 after it warned of volatile gold prices as the world enters “uncharted economic territory” in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, and fellow gold producer Newcrest shed 80 cents to $19.95.
ANZ was the best peformer among the big four banks, adding 16 cents to $28.33, while its rivals posted modest gains.
Building materials supplier Boral fell 76.6 cents, or 13.3 per cent, to $4.99 as it resumed trade following a capital raising to fund its $US2.6 billion acquisition of US firm Headwaters Incorporated.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1634 AEDT on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.7 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 5,485.1 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 0.9 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 5,549 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was up one point at 5,497 points, with 26,897 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 3.05 billion securities traded, worth $5.6 billion.
