Aussie shares are higher at midday following a positive lead from US stocks overnight, with the top banks such as Westpac and major miners like Rio Tinto leading the gains.
The S&P/ASX200 index is 47 points higher at 4,682 and on the futures market the SPI 200’s up 51 points.
In company news: Agricultural chemicals company Nufarm Ltd (ASX:NUF) says it has received a revised takeover offer from China’s Sinochem at a lower price. Nufarm says Sinochem last night advised the company that it will not proceed with its previous offer of $13 a share and has instead proposed a price of $12 a share. Nufarm says Sinochem has not yet clarified the terms and conditions of the revised offer and it plans to seek clarification before it will decide on whether to recommend the offer to shareholders. Shares in Nufarm are in a trading halt and last traded at $10.56.
Coal miner Gloucester Coal Ltd (ASX:GCL) has placed its shares in a trading halt ahead of an announcement regarding a potential takeover of the company. Earlier fellow coal miner Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX:MCC) shares were also placed in a trading halt with the company saying it expects to make a significant announcement in relation to a material corporate transaction. Gloucester has operations in the NSW Gloucester basin shares last traded at $6.55 and Macarthur in Queensland’s Bowen basin shares last traded at $9.71.
Turning now to market indices: Majority of sectors are in positive territory at midday, however the sector with the biggest gain is the Financials Excluding Real Estate Investment Trust index, up 67 points at 5,347. Shares in QBE Insurance advanced 2.28% to $25.12. Shares in Westpac and ANZ are also higher.
One of the sector’s with the smallest gain at midday is the Consumer Staples index, up 25 to 7,418. Shares in AWB fell 1.8% to $1.09. While shares in Metcash and Coca Cola Amatil are slightly higher at noon.
Looking to New Zealand and the NZSX50 is 27 points higher. Taking a look now at the top 5 stocks by turnover: Heading the list is Telecom of New Zealand, its stock up 1.23% at $2.47, followed by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Auckland Airport, Fletcher Building, and Allied Farmers.
To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at US$1,096.40 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 87.93 US cents.
