SYDNEY, Dec 10 （Reuters） - Australian stocks were flat in late morning trade Friday after losses for major miners partly offset gains for the major banks as mixed messages from offshore markets kept investors on the sidelines.
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto lost 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent respectively, but financial stocks tempered the market's overall losses with the four major banks trading in positive territory.
Australian shares rose in the previous session, buoyed by strong employment data although retailers had a bad week following a profit warning from The Reject Shop .
The local markets is expected to climb about 15 percent in 2011 after a disappointing 2010 on hopes for stronger corporate earnings and an improvement in offshore confidence, a Reuters Poll found. [ID:nSGE6B70EM].
"We see quite a good environment for equity investment in the coming 12 months," Citi equity strategist Richard Schellbach said. Citi expects the benchmark index to reach 5,600 points in the next year.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was trading 5 points lower at 4,736.30 by 0052 GMT after opening a touch higher.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fell 3.478 points to 3,284.034.
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