Petronas, as the Malaysian state oil company is known, sold a 17.3 percent stake, or 111.3 million shares, to institutional investors, APA said today in a statement. 10.51am : Markets are now edging back toward negative territory. Macquarie Private Wealth division director Lucinda Chan said the strong finish to Tuesday's local session in response to the RBA's rate cut was expected to curb gains today. ''It was a big run yesterday afternoon, so I think we have to be realistic to think that our market needs to balance itself out a little bit,'' Ms Chan said. 10.42am : Alumina says pricing and demand will remain subdued in 2012, as the high Australian dollar continues to put the company under pressure. Addressing shareholders at Alumina's annual general meeting in Melbourne, chief executive John Bevan spoke cautiously about the short-term outlook. ''2012 has started with weak pricing and an uncertain market, due to the macroeconomic outlook for Europe,'' he said.