Following a mixed lead from Wall St at the end of last week, Aussie stocks are lower at midday with declines in the gold miners and energy stocks weighing on the market on weaker oil and gold prices.
The S&P/ASX200 index is 12 points lower at 4,623 and on the futures market the SPI 200’s down 33 points.
In company news: Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) has launched a residential mortgage-backed securities issue of $1 billion. According to the Dow Jones Newswires, the issue is divided between $920 million of Class A notes carrying a preliminary AAA rating, $55 million of AA-rated Class B notes and $25 million of Class C bonds. The Dow Jones Newswires reports that the price guidance on the Class A notes is 130 basis points over the swap rate. Westpac shares fell 0.59 per cent to $23.42.
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MRL) has beaten Lion Asia Resources in its bid for Polaris Metals NL (ASX:POL). Mineral Resources says it has been successful, having reached a relevant interest in 51.29% of Polaris shares, giving it control of the company. Under the offer Polaris shareholders will receive one Mineral Resources share for every 10 shares held and 10 cents in cash for each Polaris share they hold. Shares in Mineral Resources gained 3.52 per cent to $7.05.
Turning now to market indices: The best performing sector at midday is the Consumer Staples index up 82 points at 7,515. Shares in Woolworths advanced 1.83% to $27.32. Shares in Foster’s Group and Metcash are also higher.
The worst performing sector at midday is the Energy index, down 114 points to 15,163. Shares in Caltex Australia fell 2.52% to $8.12. Shares in Santos and Aquila Resources are also lower at noon.
Looking to New Zealand and the NZSX50 is 20 points lower. Taking a look now at the top 5 stocks by turnover: Topping the list is Telecom of New Zealand stocks steady at $2.35 followed by; Telstra, Auckland Airport, Fletcher Building and Guinness Peat.
To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at US$1,118.40 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 90.87 US cents.
