Renewed QBE sell-off deflates market Shares reversed early gains to finish flat on Tuesday, with a slump in insurer QBE erasing early rises fueled by fresh record highs on Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index edged down 0.8 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 5143.6 as QBE Insurance Group led the falls for the second day in a row. The broader All Ordinaries index slipped 2.2 points to 5146.2. A monthly measure of business conditions produced by National Australian Bank rose 1 point to -3, indicating that the operating environment remains lacklustre. NAB's measure of business confidence dipped 1 point to 5, indicating that on balance per cent more of the executives surveyed were more positive in their outlook during November than they were in October. At the local close, the dollar was buying US91.03¢, down from US91.04¢ at the previous close. Among the big banks, National Australia Bank was unchanged at $33.17, while the rest of the big four banks were all higher after Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed the number of home loans approved in October rose 1 per cent the highest monthly level on record. Commonwealth Bank added 0.5 per cent to $75.26, while Westpac gained 0.3 per cent to $31.19, and ANZ rose 0.1 per cent to $30.78. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has appealed a federal court decision to dismiss allegations of price-fixing against ANZ. QBE lost another 9.8 per cent to $10.82, after dumping 22.3 per cent the day before after emerging from a trading halt to warn it would suffer a $250 million reported net loss for the year. Embattled Qantas Airways fell 3 per cent to a record closing low of 96.5¢, after hitting an intra-day record low of 95.5¢. BHP Billiton rose 0.1 per cent to $36.82, as chief executive Andrew MacKenzie talked up the company's "productivity agenda." Rio Tinto fell 0.5 per cent to $66.17, despite the spot price of iron ore, landed in China, strengthening to $US139.40 a tonne. Rio Tinto subsidiary Energy Resources Australia lost 11.5 per cent to $1.01, as the government put a ban on processing at its Ranger uranium mine. ERA dumped 12.7 per cent the day before following a containment breach over the weekend. Australia's biggest oil producer, Woodside Petroleum, added 0.5 per cent to $37.57, as chief executive Peter Coleman said the company had other development options if a planned $US1.25 billion investment in an Israeli gas field, which has been hit by delays, does not go ahead. Utilities was the worst-performing sector on the st, down 0.6 per cent as AGL Energy lost 1 per cent to $14.42. Food and liquor stocks were mostly lower. Metcash lost 0.6 per cent to $3.13 as analysts digested plans announced on Monday to unwind a merger of its wholesale and retail divisions. Among the biggest players in the sector Woolworths edged up 2 cents to $32.92, while Wesfarmers, owner of Coles, lost 0.5 per cent to $41.45. Industrials was the best-performing sector up 0.7 per cent as Brambles - adjusted for the Recall spin-off - added 4.9 per cent to $8.86. Document management business Recall Holdings rose to $4.50 after debuting at $4.15. Hotel Property Investments, a portfolio of Coles-operated pubs and bottle-shops, closed at $2.07 after making its launching at $2.08. There are four more IPOs coming to market this week, starting with a $18 million offer from physiotherapy gadget maker DorsaVi on Wednesday.