Sharemarket

The top 150 Public Companies Listed on the Australian Stockmarket as at 29/05/2009

1. BHP Billiton
2. Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC)
3. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
4. National Australia Bank (NAB)

Macquarie Research released some thoughts to ponder about the US economy and its effects on the global equity markets and the Australian sharemarket.

What does the US Economy hold for the Market?

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Bank stocks trend lower due to an anticipation of an interest rise in US: The sharemarket receded further at noon as base metal prices weighed on the resources sector and anticipation of a rise in interest rates in the United States sent bank stocks south.

But petrol and oil companies were rosier, lifted by a surge in the oil price.

At noon, S&P/ASX200 was down 21.7 points to 4590.2, while the All Ordinaries had slipped 20 points to 4542.2.

ABN Amro Morgans Ipswich manager Tony Russell said it was a quiet day on the market, and the bourse was waiting for further leads from New York.