Following a strong close on Wall Street and with growing optimism in Europe the Australian share market opened higher and is 0.3 per cent up at noon.
Energy stocks continued to be a drag on the market but it was the miners and the banks which helped push the local bourse back into the green.
It’s hoped that an uptick in the oil price may bring some respite to crumbling energy stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 18 points up at 5,372. On the futures market the SPI is 13 points higher.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported a surprise jump in Building approvals for November. Seasonally adjusted dwellings approvals rose 7.5 per cent in November, it came in well ahead of expectations which were pointing to a negative figure.
Company news
Ziptel Limited
(ASX:ZIP) has seen its share price jump more than 14 per cent on news that phase one of ZipT’s pilot test returned positive results. The sim card and VOIP communication company says its ZipT app, which allows users to make calls and send SMS through their mobile, performed strongly in a two week test that involved 1,000 users. The company says engagement was high and usage was stable even at low bandwidths. Shares in Ziptel are trading up 14.29 per cent at $0.36.
Shares in Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited
(ASX:CFU) are up 30 per cent as the German environment ministry increase funding levels for the company’s BlueGen system. BlueGen uses fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity and heat for homes and other buildings. The company says highly efficient systems in Germany will see additional funding of up to 85 per cent of base funding. Shares in CFU are trading up 30 per cent at $0.01.
Best and worst performers The best performing sector is real estate investment trusts, gaining 0.8 per cent to 1,223. Shares in Westfield Corporation Limited
(ASX:WFD) have risen 2.11 per cent and trading at $9.66. Shares in Abacus Property Group
(ASX:ABP) and Cromwell Group
(ASX:CMW) are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is energy, falling 0.7 per cent to 10,864. Shares in Paladin Energy Limited
(ASX:PDN) have fallen 5.19 per cent, trading at $0.36. Shares in Senex Energy Limited
(ASX:SXY) and Whitehaven Coal Limited
(ASX:WHC) are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,214 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.81.
