Shares close flat in wary trade

City Index chief market analyst Peter Esho said wow items the retail numbers should come as no surprise and some high street retailers might see "more revisions needed on the downside" in the near term.

Still, he added that with the sharp downturn in retail stocks in recent months, well-placed retailers could outperform in the coming earnings season. He picks Centro Retail Australia, Harvey Norman, Myer and Ten Holdings as his preferred bets.

Super Retail Group, for example, ended the day 2.2 per cent higher at $5.58 after the sports retailer bucked the trend to report a 35 per cent rise in group sales in the last 26 weeks of 2011 to $758.6 million.

"We think even bad earnings numbers out in February and March might see cyclical retailers post gains in their share prices," said Mr Esho.

At the close on Monday, the benchmark wow items S index was down 3.1 points at 4,105.4, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down three points at 4,161.5.

On the ASX 24, the March 2012 share price index futures contract was eight points lower at 4,072, with 25,924 contracts traded.

Dealers also remained wary of wow items putting money on the table ahead of the start of the US earnings season on Monday.

Aluminium-maker Alumina was in particular focus because of its joint buy wow gear venture with US-based Alcoa, which is due to kick off the earnings season on Wall Street overnight. Shares in the miner and refiner fell 1.4 per cent to $1.095.

Positive data from the US, including market-beating non-farm wow gold payrolls on Friday, have spurred gains in local markets this year as hopes have grown for the health of the world's largest economy.

But Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee wow gold said that another meeting of European leaders later in the day has put the debt crisis firmly at the front of dealers' minds.

"We're seeing more risk aversion coming through as the focus turns back to Europe after good data from the US drove the market gains last week," she said.

BHP Billiton ended 0.1 per cent lower at $35.20 and Rio Tinto shed 0.6 per cent to $62.15.

Spotless Group added 1.7 per cent to $2.37 after the industrial services firm said it would not accept an offer of less than $2.80 a share from its private equity suitor Pacific Equity Partners.

Paperlinx shares ended 7.5 per cent lower as a battle between hybrid and equity shareholders threatened to scupper a takeover bid for the paper manufacturer from a private equity consortium.
source:http://www.buywowgold.nl