The Aussie sharemarket’s up 0.64 per cent at close. It seems rumours overnight of a debt agreement between Germany and France helped lift the local bourse; telcos, healthcare and financials excluding real estate investment trusts all gaining strongly on the news.
The S&P/ASX200 Index closed 27 points higher at 4,213. On the futures market, the SPI is up 32 points.
Economic news
Australia’s economic growth’s set to lift next year, Westpac and the Melbourne Institute’s Leading Index, which measures the likely pace of economic activity three to nine months into the future, has produced a read of 4.5 per cent in August, coming in above the long-term trend of 3.3 per cent.
Company news
BHP Billiton Limited's (ASX:BHP) (NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) iron ore and petroleum production rose for the first quarter of the financial year, but base metal volumes dropped.
The miner’s Pilbara iron ore operations were up 24 per cent on the year before, and first quarter petroleum production was up 19 per cent from the previous period as well as on the June quarter.
Copper production was impacted by worker’s strikes at Escondida in Chile though, and coking coal volumes were weaker than for the prior corresponding quarter, but up on the June quarter.
Shares in BHP Billiton Limited (ASX:BHP) are flat at close, closing at $36.40.
CSL Limited (ASX:CSL) has reaffirmed its expectations of a 10 per cent lift in reported net profit, with expectations of about $955 million at current exchange rates.
The vaccines maker’s chief executive Brian McNamee said the Australian dollar is on a roll, and it will have an impact on the results after three or four years of currency headwinds. CSL also today announced a new on-market buyback of up to $900 million shares.
Shares in CSL Limited (ASX:CSL) rose 1.06 per cent to close at $30.53.
In other company news headlines today, third quarter production for Oz minerals Limited (ASX:OZL) fell, but the company says annual copper production remains on target. Gold production was down for the period, copper production was down, but silver was up.
Chief executive Terry Burgess says the company’s newly acquired Carapateena asset will cost about $2 billion to develop and the company will continue to hunt acquisitions.
Lend Lease Group (ASX:LLC) has launched an investment fund. The property developer’s now set to takeover four shopping centres in New Zealand, and to call the wholesale investment vehicle Lend Lease Real Estate Partners New Zealand fund. It’s got equity commitments of NZ$115 million from a small group of global institutional investors, and will have a 5.3 per cent co-investment in the fund.
RIO Tinto’s Limited (ASX:RIO) (NYSE:RIO) (LON:RIO) committed an additional $US1.3 billion to the development of the Simandou iron ore field project in Guinea. The miner said today that it’s accelerating the development of the project, so it can move towards first shipment of ore by mid-2015.
And Webjet Limited’s (ASX:WEB) (FRA:WBJ) pre-tax first quarter profit’s up 23 per cent on the same time the year before, and net profit before tax for the three months to the end of September’s $4.65 million, which was a 23 per cent increase for the online travel agency.
Best and worst performers
The best performing sector was telcos, gaining 29 points to close at 1,088.
The worst performing sector was materials, losing 60 points to close at 11,354 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX200 for the second day running was Gunns, lifting 9.26 per cent to close at 29 cents. Shares in Caltex and Cohclear also finished the day stronger.
The worst performing stock was Lynas, down 9.92 per cent closing at $1.09. Oceanagold and Atlas Iron also closed lower.
IPO
Today was the first day on the market for Volta Mining. It listed at 20 cents, opened at 20.5 cents, and closed at 20.5 cents.
Commodities
Gold is trading at $US1,667 an ounce. Light crude is down 37 cents at $US85.44 a barrel.
