Following weak leads, the Australian share market opened lower this morning, but is trading 0.35 per cent higher at noon. Just over half the sectors are trading in the green, with the all ords up 0.34 per cent. The S&P/ASX200 index is up 7 points to 4,544 at noon. On the futures market the SPI is up 2 points.
Company news A statement from the ACCC released this morning says Qantas Airways Limited
(ASX:QAN) has been granted interim regulatory approval for a joint business agreement with American Airlines. Under the proposed deal, the airline will coordinate services on the trans-tasman and trans-pacific routes. Shares in Qantas Airways Limited
(ASX:QAN) are down 2.06 per cent at noon and are trading at $1.90.5.
ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) will be replacing about 50,000 RSA SecurID tokens after a data breach at the security division of EMC, the IT infrastructure support company. ZDNet reports that there will be no threat to customers after the hack in March, and tokens will be issued at no extra cost. Shares in ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) have risen 0.7 per cent and are trading at $21.49.
SectorsThe best performing sector is energy, adding 49 points to 1,525. Shares in Santos
(ASX:STO) have gained 1.45 per cent and trading at $13.96. Shares in Origin Energy
(ASX:ORG)and Oil Search
(ASX:OSH) are both stronger at noon. The worst performing sector is Real Estate Investment Trusts falling 4 points to 850. Shares in Charter Hall Group (Public, ASX:CHC) have dropped 2.33 per cent and trading at $2.10. Shares in Westfield Group (Public, ASX:WDC) and Stockland (Public, ASX:SGP) and are also weaker at noon.
New ZealandThe NZSX50 is down 18 points. Taking a look at the top four stocks by turnover, Fletcher Building is at the top of the list with stock down 0.91 per cent at $8.67 followed by Telecom Corporation of New Zealand, Westpac, and Telstra Corporation.
Gold and the dollar Gold is trading at $US1,536 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is buying $US1.05.77 cents.
