Aussie shares are higher at midday led by gains in the resource companies like gold miner Newcrest Mining and oil giant Woodside Petroleum on higher oil and gold prices.
The S&P/ASX200 index is 30 points higher at 4,942 and on the futures market the SPI 200’s up 36 points.
In economic news: ANZ’s job advertisements survey showed that the total number of job ads jumped 6% in December, the biggest gain since May 2007.
In company news: Equity investment firm Mirrabooka Investments Ltd (ASX:MIR) has reported a 24% fall in net profit to $5.6 million for the six months to December 31, 2009. This compares to a profit of $7.4 million recorded for the same period the year before. Net operating profit fell 27% to $4 million, with revenue from operating activities down 36% to $3.9 million. Mirrabooka will pay a 3.5 cent interim dividend. Shares in Mirrabooka Investments are steady at $2.15.
Modular building manufacturer Nomad Building Solutions Ltd (ASX:NOD) has issued an earnings downgrade, saying it expects to report a loss of around $2 million for fiscal 2010 on revenue of $250 million. The company previously forecast a profit after tax of between $10 million and $12 million but says the business has been impacted by a failure to secure the anticipated level of work, additional costs and continuing pressure on margins. Shares in Nomad Building Solutions plunged 44.68 per cent to $0.39.
Turning now to market indices: the best performing sector at midday is the Materials index up 220 points at 13,324. Shares in Berkeley Resources advanced 6.2% to $1.37. Shares in Platinum Australia and Atlas Iron are also higher.
The worst performing sector at midday is the Telco Services index, down 12 to 1,150. Shares in Telecom of New Zealand fell 2.42% to $2.02. While shares in Macquarie Telecom Group and Telstra are also lower at noon.
Looking to New Zealand and the NZSX50 is 8 points lower. Turning to the top 5 stocks by turnover: Telecom of New Zealand heads the list with stock down 1.16% at $2.56 followed by; Auckland Airport, Fletcher Building, Kathmandu Holdings and New Zealand Oil & Gas.
To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at US$1,157.35 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 93.08 US cents.
