Out market seems to have little interest in any upside at present. Initial gains on the open were quickly and decisively rejected in morning trade. It then drifted slightly higher from lunch time until 3.00pm when any upside was again rejected with selling into the close. The XJO closed 31 points lower ahead of the release of the Federal Budget tonight. Media have investors sitting on the sidelines and cautious ahead of the budget but volume for the day was about the average since the mid-March lows. Losses were across the board as far as the sectors were concerned, Telecommunications the only sector finishing in positive territory. Information and Financial sectors were hit the hardest, both down 1% or more. The Australian Dollar has held steady and is trading at 1.0771 at the time of writing. Overnight the US markets edged higher with some small gains – the Dow Jones closing up 0.36%.