Aussie shares are up almost one and a half percent, rising on the back of a strong lead from Wall St, US equities surging to a five month high. Locally finance and resource stocks are leading the gains.
The S&P/ASX200 index is up 66 points at 4,673 and on the futures market, the SPI200 is up 64.
To company news: Stockland’s (ASX:SGP) takeover target, retirement village operator Aevum Ltd (ASX:AVE), has entered a trading halt pending the finalisation of the deal. Last week Stockland secured a majority interest in Aevum, boosting its stake to 54.56 per cent, which has today increased further to 64.13 per cent. Aevum says it will remain in a trading halt until it makes an announcement or until Friday, while Stockland’s offer of $1.80 per share remains open until 13 October. Shares in Stockland are 0.89% up at $3.955.
Sirtex Medical Ltd (ASX:SRX) has delivered record sales for its first quarter of fiscal 2011. For the three months to 30 September, the cancer drug maker says drug dose sales increased 16.2 per cent. In the 2010 financial year Sirtex recorded a drop in net profit, falling from $18.2 million last year to $16.1 million in the year to 30 June. Shares in Sirtex Medical are 7.08% up at $5.14.
Turning now to market indices: All sectors are in the black at noon. The best performing sector is Materials, with the index up 304 points to 12,851. Shares in Bluescope Steel are up 3.21% to $2.25. Shares in BHP Billiton and Incitec Pivot are also higher. The sector with the least gains at midday is Utilities, with the index up 16 points to 4,519. Shares in Transfield Services have dropped 1.49% to 66 cents. Shares in APA Group and Energy World Corporation are also lower at noon. To New Zealand now, the NZSX50 is up 24 points. Taking a look at the top 4 stocks by turnover: Telecom of New Zealand is at the top of the list with stock up 0.49% at $2.04 followed by; Westpac, ANZ and Fletcher Building.
To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at $1343 US an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 97.09 US cents.
