The Australian share market is stronger at midday, following a solid performance on Wall Street overnight - renewed interest in the US recovery story and a pull-back in the oil price giving investors an excuse to buy up cyclical stocks today.
The S&P/ASX200 index has gained 48 points and is 4,854 at noon. On the futures market the SPI up 51 points.
Looking at company news: Shopping centre owner Westfield (ASX:WDC) has been dropped. In the latest rebalancing on indices, Westfield has moved out of the top 20 stocks listed on the ASX. It was the only stock to be dropped out of the top 20. Westfield chief Frank Lowy recently announced his two sons will be taking over the stewardship of the group.
Shares in Westfield have advanced 1.04 per cent and are $9.67 at noon.
And the ANZ Bank (ASX: ANZ) is remaining tight-lipped. The bank has declined to comment on whether it will seek to raise its stake in Malaysian lender AMMB Holdings. It follows comments from the Malaysian prime minister the the country was open to the idea.
Shares in ANZ have gained 0.59 per cent at noon and are trading at $23.74.
To the best and worst performers: The best performing sector is Materials rising 240 points to 14,411. Shares in Sundance have gained 5.1 per cent to 51.5 cents Shares in Alumina and Bluescope have also lifted at midday.
The worst performing sector is Health Care, gaining 14 points to 8,816. Shares in Sonic Health Care have fallen 1.9 per cent to $11.38. Shares in Biota Ltd and CSL Ltd have also weakened in morning trade.
To New Zealand: The NZSX50 has added 24 points.
Taking a look at the top four stocks by turnover, Fletcher Building is at the top of the list with stock up 1.84 per cent at $8.87 followed by Telecom Corporation of New Zealand, ANZ and AMP NZ Office.
To gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at $US1418 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is buying $1 and 1 US cents.
