Down again - but only a few points

THE stockmarket closed down - but only a little bit - for the fourth day in a row yesterday, amid continuing fears of a recession in the United States.

The ASX 200 index closed down 9 points at 6078.7, while the All Ordinaries had lost 12.2 to 6147.3.

A senior client adviser at Austock Securities, Michael Heffernan, said the market was showing signs of nervousness.

"The tone of the market very recently and also over the last couple of months has been very sluggish, there is a cloak of nervousness over the market," Mr Heffernan said.

"Good shares have been belted and people see there are a few bargains around the place.

"Certainly, the US slowdown that is happening is really filtering through to the sharemarket," he said.

The market got off to a solid start following a positive lead from Wall Street overnight, with the Dow Jones industrial average increasing 146.24 points to 12,735.31.

But there is still some doubts about the banks. While the Commonwealth Bank closed 11c higher at $56.95, ANZ fell 24c to $26.11, National Australia Bank fell 27c to $35.32 and Westpac was down 36c to $26.60.

Suncorp, which has been copping a hiding of late, was up a zack to $15.60. Bendigo Bank was down 40c to $13.53.

The big miners were mixed, with Rio Tinto rising $1.31 to $128.00 and rival BHP Billiton losing 11c to $39.09.

Alumina fell 16c to $6.15 after the aluminium producer cut its 2007 earnings forecast by 17 per cent $405 million.

Minara Resources rose 34c to $6.09 after the nickel producer forecast "consistent" production in 2008 after a dip in output following a maintenance program at its Murrin Murrin operation in Western Australia.

In retail, Woolworths jumped 61c to $32.94, David Jones dropped 21c to $4.92 and Harvey Norman fell 21c to $5.97.

Wesfarmers, the owner of Australia's second-largest retailer, Coles, lost 17c to $38.92.

The kitchenware dealer McPherson's added 23c to $3.42 after the company raised its first-half profit expectations following a stronger Christmas trading period.

News Corp picked up 15c to $22.24, and its non-voting shares rose 14c to $21.64. Consolidated Media Holdings fell 3c to $3.95 while Fairfax Media was steady at $4.51.

The energy sector was weaker, with Woodside falling 49c to $51.52, Santos retreating 19c to $14.44 and Oil Search dropping 3c to $4.91.

The goldminers were weaker, too, with Newcrest falling $1.03 to $38.25, Lihir shedding 3c to $3.91 and Newmont giving up 4c to $6.06. Sino Gold also fell 4c, to $7.70.

The property group Centro Properties was the most traded stock, with 102.4 million shares changing hands worth $95.6 million.

The debt-plagued property speculator's shares dropped 25c to 86c as punters wondered whether it would last.

Market turnover reached 1.76 billion, worth a total of $6.02 billion.

Agencies and staff