Following positive leads from Wall Street, the Australian share market jumped at the open and is now tracking 0.84 per cent higher at noon. Today, it’s the energy and mining stocks that are doing the bulk of the heavy lifting, with BHP and Rio Tinto enjoying strong support. The energy space has also made some gains after the oil price rallied overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 43 points higher at 5,282. On the futures market the SPI is up 32 points.
Company news Scentre Group
(ASX:SCG) has reported 5.9 per cent growth in specialty sales for the nine months to 30 September 2015. The company says in particular, the footwear, leisure, jewellery and appliance retail categories performed well over the period. Scentre Group has reconfirmed its forecast FFO of 22.5 cents per security, representing 3.5 per cent growth. Shares in Scentre Group are trading 1.58 per cent higher at $4.17.
Bluechiip Limited
(ASX:BCT) has announced the grant and the intention to grant of two new patents by the European Patent Office. The company says this is a significant milestone in advancing Bluechiip’s technology leadership in sample tracking for extreme environments. Shares in Bluechiip are trading up 15.79 per cent at 4.4 cents.
Best and worst performers
The best performing sector is Materials, gaining 1.6 per cent to 8,086. Shares in CSR have risen 8.25 per cent and trading at $3.15. Shares in Alumina and Regis Resources are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is Utilities, falling 0.1 per cent to 6,970. Shares in Spark Infrastructure have fallen 1.18 per cent, trading at $2.08. Shares in Duet Group and Ausnet are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,122 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.95 US cents.
