After a positive lead from Wall St, the Australian share market has risen 0.9 per cent at noon. All sectors are trading in positive territory with gains led by the heavyweight miners advancing on higher metals prices.
The S&P/ASX200 index has risen 43 points and is 4,695 at noon. On the futures market the SPI is 45 points higher.
Company news: Washington H Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX:SOL) has more than doubled its interim earnings, booking a net profit of $285 million. The investment company owns a 60 per cent stake in coal miner New Hope Corporation Ltd's (ASX:NHC) and says its first half result was boosted by New Hope’s sale of its stake in Arrow Energy Ltd. During the same period, profit excluding non-recurring items dropped 10 per cent and revenue fell 5 per cent, the decline attributed to a stronger Australian dollar, higher transport costs and wet weather conditions. Shares in Washington H Soul Pattinson and Co have fallen 0.65 per cent and are trading at $12.23 at noon.
Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX:LEI) has announced that two of its wholly owned subsidiaries have been awarded new contacts. Leighton Contractors has scored $317 million worth of gold mining contracts, working for Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM) in Western Australia and the Crocodile Gold Australia operations in the Northern Territory. While John Holland has been awarded a $150 million subcontract for the construction of marine offloading facilities as part of Gladstone LNG’s proposed Curtis Island LNG facility off Queensland. Shares in Leighton Holdings have firmed 0.1 per cent and are trading at $29.19 at midday.
Best and worst performers: All are trading in positive territory. The best performing sector is Materials, rising 208 points to 13,691. Shares in Macarthur Coal have lifted 2.94 per cent to $11.56. Shares in Fortescue Metals Group and Newcrest Mining are also trading stronger at midday. The sector with the smallest gains is Telco Services, flat at 914. Shares in Telstra have lost 0.37 per cent to $2.66 while shares in Macquarie Telecom and Enerji are both steady at noon.
New Zealand: The NZSX50 has gained 12 points. Taking a look at the top four stocks by turnover, Fletcher Building is at the top of the list with stock up 0.23 per cent at $8.87 followed by Telecom Corporation of New Zealand, Westpac and ANZ.
Gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at $US1438 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is buying $US1.014 cents.
