Sydney, Oct 9, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - The Australian market could end its winning streak today with a drop in base metals and oil prices expected to weigh on resource firms. Analysts say the market is ripe for a pull-back, after rallying about 21 per cent since mid-August.

On Monday the S&P/ASX200 rose 49 points to settle on 6,654 after hitting a lifetime high earlier in the session; on the future's market the SPI200 is down 27.

Turning to currencies, the Aussie dollar pulled back from 23-year highs after the US dollar advanced against most major currencies; at 8:35AM the dollar is buying 89.38 US cents, on the crosses it's buying 104.88 yen, 63.65 Euro cents, and 43.94 British pence.

The full report is available at the following video and audio links.

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Making news headlines this morning is the latest from Symbion Health. Shares last traded at $4.20 before being placed on a trading halt yesterday. Symbion officials have announced the company will be broken-up and sold to Healthscope and private equity firms in a $2.8 billion dollar deal. The revised plan comes after rival Primary Health Care used its voting power to scuttle Healthscope's original bid for the company last month. Primary is reportedly still interested in buying a part of Symbion but analysts say could be shut-out because Healthscope's new deal has a lower threshold for shareholder acceptance. Under the new proposal, Healthscope will buy Symbion's pathology, diagnostic imaging and medical centres while Archer Capital and Ironbridge Capital would buy Symbion's consumer and pharmacy businesses. Symbion Health saw earnings back in positive territory in 2007 after it posted a loss the previous year.

Shares in BHP Billiton were up 1.34% to $44.69. The Aussie giant has started oil production at its Gulf of Mexico Genghis Khan development, which is the first of three deepwater fields in the region to come on line. In combination, the fields will eventually produce more than 100,000 barrels per day. BHP Billiton earnings have been soaring since 2003.

And briefly, US-based Inverness Medical Innovations has bought Panbio in a deal that values the Australian diagnostics company at about $41 million.

To international markets, US markets were mixed in a light day of trade; the Dow Jones Industrials shed 22 points, the S&P closed 5 points weaker but the Nasdaq composite was up 7 closing at its highest level since January 2001.

European shares snapped five days of gains as miners tracked a drop in base metals. London's FTSE dropped 55; Paris sagged 14, and Frankfurt eased 28.

To Asia, where Hong Kong's Hang Sang fell 61; Tokyo's Nikkei was closed; and China's SSE Composite advanced 140 after being closed the previous week.

Back to the US, gold closed lower as investors locked-in gains in light of the firmer dollar and dropping oil and metal prices. Gold lost $8.50 to $738.70 US an ounce for the spot contract on Comex, Silver dipped 13 cents to $13.36, copper was down 11 cents to $3.61.

And finally, oil fell $2.20 to $79.02 a barrel for November light crude in New York.

Source: Finance News Network © 2007 http://www.finnewsnetwork.com.au

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