Straits Asia Resources Limited

The Australian sharemarket ended slightly lower on Monday after a positive start driven by a resources sector buoyed by higher commodity prices. The pullback was led by major banks, and consumer staples. At close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 6.4 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 4644.1, while the broader All Ordinaries gave up 6.1 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 4665.8.

Asian stocks markets broadly opened higher on Monday on hope of the US government's plan to remove toxic assets from the troubled financial firms. Most major indices in Asia posted strong openings and surged more than 1% in early trading.

Australian stocks ended flat for a second day after an early rally sparked by Babcock & Brown's winning of a reprieve from bankers loses steam. Yesterday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 share index ended little changed for a second day running, giving up just 1.4 points to 3542.4, while the All Ordinaries index ended down 0.2%, or 8.4 points, at 3468.1. Earlier, the indexes climbed about 2%. It is anticipated that the energy and mining sectors will plunge after the commodities price lowered with poor outlook and concerns over companies' ability of debt refinancing in a short term may weigh on the stocks.