Market Update: The S&P/ASX 200 opened higher on the back of a stronger finish in the US and European equity markets overnight but rise pared to be flat at...

Market Update: The S&P/ASX 200 opened higher on the back of a stronger finish in the US and European equity markets overnight but rise pared to be flat at 5,373 points after headline CPI came in higher than expected, dampening hopes of a near term rate cut. Health Care stocks were lagging with CSL and Sigma falling 1.4% and 2.2% respectively. Financials were mixed with CBA slightly up while ANZ, NAB and WBC were all lower between 0.3% to 0.4%. Resources were lending support to the market with gold stocks leading the gain. Newcrest rose 4.7%, Perseus jumped 14.3% and Sirius surged 16.0%. The AUD climbed US$0.0050 after the release of CPI but lost all the gain in late afternoon trading following the fall in the equity market to be trading at US$0.9669. The SPI was up 0.1% at 5,361 points on the Sydney Futures Exchange.