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MELBOURNE - The Australian share market closed steady on Friday, dragged back from earlier highs after falls from Woolworths, QBE and Telstra.
At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was one point, or 0.03 per cent, lower at 3344.5, while the broader All Ordinaries fell half a point, or 0.02 per cent, to 3296.9.
At 1615 AEDT on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the March share price index contract was nine points higher at 3320, on a volume of 29,321 contracts.
Austock Securities senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said a fall from Telstra combined with a drop in Woolworths and QBE to drag the market lower.
"It was a bit of a disappointing end to the day, the market was doing pretty well despite the anaemic lead from the US," Mr Heffernan said.
"Woolworths put out what I would consider a pretty strong result, but it saw its share price go down.
"Overall the (company) results have, by and large, exceeded expectations on the upside and I think we have finished on a fairly positive note even though the market is down a little today."
The local market opened weaker on Friday after Wall Street closed lower overnight, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 88.81 points, or 1.22 per cent, to 7,182.08.
Locally the big miners were stronger, with BHP Billiton adding 23 cents to $28.83 and rival Rio Tinto putting on 95 cents to $47.25.
Gloucester Coal gained $1.01, or 25.9 per cent, to $4.91 after its largest shareholder Noble Group launched a $310 million takeover in a bid to trump the target's planned merger with Whitehaven Coal.
The banking sector was mixed, with ANZ adding 26 cents to $13.31, Westpac picking up 24 cents to $16.89, National Australia Bank putting on 37 cents to $17.88 and Commonwealth Bank steady at $29.80.
QBE Insurance Group reported a three per cent fall in full-year profit as the value of shares in which the country's biggest insurance company was invested declined in value because of the financial crisis.
Shares in QBE shed 95 cents to $19.06.
The retailers were mixed, with Wesfarmers picking up 78 cents to $17.60, David Jones putting on two cents to $2.34 and Woolworths giving up $1.86 to $26.14.
Woolworths expects its fiscal 2009 net profit to rise by as much as 14 per cent after the retail giant posted a 10.3 per cent lift in first half earnings.
Electronics and furniture retailer Harvey Norman Holdings shed three cents to $1.91 after the company said trading conditions remained uncertain and reported a 56.8 per cent fall in first half profit.
The media sector was mixed, with Consolidated Media Holdings steady at $2.00, News Corp losing 45 cents to $10.05 and its non-voting shares falling 36 cents to $8.99.
Consolidated Media Holdings posted a big fall in reported net profit, while Fairfax Media Ltd launched a $684 million capital raising and announced the departure of its chief financial officer.
Fairfax shares are in a trading halt and last traded at 93 cents.
Gaming firm Crown gained 38 cents to $5.19 after the company said its Australian casino operations were so far holding up against the economic downturn, and that it would hang on to its North American and UK assets despite writing down their value.
The energy sector was mixed, with Santos adding 46 cents to $15.47 and Oil Search gaining four cents to $5.02 and Woodside dropping 18 cents to $35.80.
The spot price of trading at US$937.70 an ounce by 1621 AEDT, down $8.70 on Thursday's local close of US$946.40 an ounce.
The gold miners were mixer, with Newcrest gaining 98 cents to $30.98, Lihir putting on three cents to $3.30 and Newmont flat at $6.20.
Telstra was the most traded stock by volume, with 132.38 million shares changing hands, worth $469.76 million.
The telco dropped 13 cents, or 3.53 per cent, to close at $3.55.
Preliminary market turnover reached 1.69 billion, worth a total value of $5.22 billion, with 468 stocks up, 418 down and 284 unchanged.
- AAP
