Aussie shares have fallen at noon, trading in the red on the back of a weak lead from Wall St, US investors cautious ahead of midterm elections and the Fed’s expected quantitative easing announcement. A bit of caution too at home, with local investors speculating on the outcome of this afternoon’s RBA interest rate decision, not to mention the Melbourne Cup.
The S&P/ASX200 index is down 11 points at 4,687 and on the futures market, the SPI200 is down 15.
To company news: BHP Billiton Ltd’s (ASX:BHP) $40 billion hostile bid for PotashCorp has received encouraging news, with reports suggesting that Canadian regulators have offered cautious approval of the takeover. According to Canada's National Post newspaper an unidentified source has indicated the global miner will receive the nation’s regulatory go-ahead, but with strings attached. However, the paper noted that the final decision which is expected Wednesday, would still lie with Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Mr Harper's office has denied this is the case and says the final decision will be with Industry Minister Tony Clement. Shares in BHP Billiton are 0.09% lower at $42.26.
Challenger Wine Trust (ASX:CWT) has confirmed it is in confidential and incomplete discussions with third parties and is to inform the market on the outcome on Thursday. The vineyard owner’s shares have entered into a trading halt, pending an announcement in relation to strategic alternatives for the fund. Challenger Wine Trust has also responded to its recent spike in share price, and says it has observed an increase in the volume and price of its units but does not have any information to disclose at this time. Challenger Wine Trust’s securities last traded at $0.19.
Turning now to market indices: The best performing sector is Real Estate Investment Trusts, with the index up 5 points to 873. Shares in Ardent Leisure Group are up 6.64% to $1.125. Shares in Westfield Group and Charter Hall Office are also higher. The worst performing sector at midday is Financials Excluding Real Estate Investment Trusts, with the index down 25 points to 5,139. Shares in AXA Asia Pacific Holdings have dropped 1.99% to $5.43. Shares in AMP and Macquarie Group are also lower at midday.
To New Zealand: The NZSX50 is up 20 points. Taking a look at the top 4 stocks by turnover, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare is at the top of the list with stock down 0.62% at $3.22 followed by; Telecom of New Zealand, Sky City Entertainment Group and AMP New Zealand Office. To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at $1353 US an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 98.82 US cents.
