Australian stocks buoyed by oil, Wall St

The financial sector has dragged down the Australian stock market during a quiet morning of trade.

The ASX had looked set to follow US stocks higher.

The financial sector has dragged down the Australian stock market amid a quiet morning of trade.

The benchmark ASX/S & P 200 was down 0.16 per cent at 5,531.4 at noon as trade remained subdued ahead of BHP Billiton’s full-year results.

The broader All Ordinaries index was down 8.5 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 5,625.3.

A lack of driving force and falls by ANZ, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank led the market into negative territory.

ANZ, NAB and the Commonwealth Bank were down between 0.13 and 1.03 per cent at 12.40pm (AEST).

Westpac was bucking the trend, up 0.27 per cent.

But local energy giants were enjoying a boost from gains in oil prices amid hopes producing nations will agree to limit production in the face of a global supply glut.

Santos was up 3.03 per cent at $4.93, Oil Search had lifted 0.41 per cent to $7.40, Woodside Petroleum had climbed 1.57 per cent to $27.82 and Origin Energy has risen 1.88 per cent to $5.71.

Both Domino’s Pizza and property giant Mirvac used positive full-year earning results to project further growth.

Mirvac shares were up 7.5 cents at $2.23, but Domino’s stocks were down $3.87 at $74.00.