US markets closed marginally up after good earnings from major players Morgan Stanley and Apple balanced out the disappointing outlook for health companies.
Healthcare stocks took a beating after a number of companies in the sector cut their profit forecasts, placing the blame on the US healthcare reform initiative.
The Dow Jones closed up 0.1% at 11,124.92 points while the Nasdaq closed up 0.2% at 2504.61 points.
In England, the market did not fare so well, the FTSE 100 dropping 1% to 5723.43 points, pushed lower by ongoing uncertainty around the Greek bailout.
Despite the Euro Zone and International Monetary Fund each agreeing to offer financial support to the beleaguered country, opposition from Germany could see the plan delayed.
While the deal is still in talks, Greece has continued to push ahead to try and solve the crisis internally, seeking to drastically cut its budget deficit and avoid default.
On the local market, poor overseas leads took their toll, the benchmark S&P-ASX 200 closing down 1% at 4907.4 points.
Across-the-board falls on the London Metal Exchange overnight saw mining stocks fall hard, BHP Billiton shedding A52c to $42.21 while Rio Tinto had the largest drop of the day, losing $1.66 to close at $76.86.
On the LME overnight lead prices dropped 1.6% to $US2292 per tonne, aluminium fell 1.4% to $2318.50/t and copper lost 0.4% to close at $7723.25/t.
Nickel and zinc each dropped 1%, nickel closing at $26,939/t and zinc finishing at $2389.25/t.
On a positive note, AngloGold Ashanti had the highest real-term gain of the day, rising A23c to $8.59, one day after securing a $US1 billion four-year unsecured revolving credit facility to refinance an existing unsecured revolving credit facility that matures in December 2010.
Junior mineral explorer Azure Minerals performed well today, taking out the highest percentage gain with a 54.3% (1.9c) increase to 5.4c, a move that saw it issued with a speeding ticket from the Australian Securities Exchange.
In responding to the ASX query, Azure said it had no news that could have spurred the sudden jump, however cited a Fat Prophets report that recommended the company to its subscribers.
In the report, Fat Prophets said “Azure is a high risk and highly speculative play, but nevertheless Azure is recommended as a buy for all members. A high-risk play is not out of place in a diversified portfolio”
