The local share market has reversed earlier losses to close the week on a high, with worries about Greece’s debt woes receding by this afternoon.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index finished 12 points higher at 4,897, up 25 points on the week, while on the futures market, the SPI200 is up 23.
Looking to the U.S. and on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial index rose 99 points on the four trading days this week. The S&P500 Index added 6, the NASDAQ gained 23 and the 100 index lifted 17 points.
To company news around this afternoon: Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX:BOQ) has agreed to buy the St Andrew’s insurance business from Commonwealth Bank Ltd (ASX:CBA), allowing it to expand into consumer credit insurance. CEO David Liddy says the acquisition fits in with the bank’s growth strategy, including income diversification through businesses with complementary products to its core mortgage distribution. Mr Liddy says the purchase should immediately increase earnings per share, but there will be no material impact on earnings for 2010. St Andrew’s has an annual gross written premium of $75 million and about 165,000 policyholders. Shares in Bank of Queensland gained 0.17% to $11.77.
Australia’s largest airline Qantas Ltd (ASX:QAN) says it filled a higher number of seats in February as economic growth bolstered demand for domestic travel. The airline filled 79.4% of available seats during the month, up from 78.4% a year earlier. Both Qantas and budget carrier Jetstar have recently restored capacity on domestic routes and added destinations. Jetstar filled 82.7% of domestic seats last month. Shares in Qantas are up 0.7% at $2.87.
Also making news: Shares in Macquarie Group’s oil and gas services firm Miclyn Express Offshore Ltd (ASX:MIO) debuted at $1.92 today as it began trading for the first time on the Australian Securities Exchange - a positive result, given the company’s issue price of $1.90.
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX:IAG) has cut its full-year insurance margin outlook for the second time this month as weather claims continue to mount. The company is now expecting a margin of between 9.5 and 11%, down from 10.5 to 12%, after receiving over 13,000 claims relating to severe weather in Perth.
Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) will sell its entire working interest in Evans Shoal in the Bonaparte Basin to Magellan Petroleum Australia for up to $200 million.
And ANZ Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) is pushing ahead with plans to make the company Australia’s largest foreign bank. The company says it will invest US$100 million in Indonesia this year to complete its acquisition of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s retail and commercial businesses and to accelerate organic growth.
In the best and worst performers: The best performing sector at close was the Healthcare index, up 135 points at 9,193. The worst performing sector was the Telco Services index; down 16 points to 1,045.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ ASX200 was Isoft Group, shares rose 6.54% to $0.57, while shares in Virgin Blue and Charter Hall also closed higher today.
The worst performing stock was Energy World Corp, shares are down 8.33% to $0.495. Shares in Consolidated Media closed lower and Elders’ shares were also down after announcing it has commissioned Ernst & Young to review its forestry assets.
And finally, the Aussie dollar is trading at 91 US cents - down more than half a cent on the week. In commodities, gold is trading at $1,094.90 U.S an ounce and was down $11.65 on the week, and oil is up $0.36 to $80.89 U.S cents a barrel.
