My Share Space

Aussie shares built momentum throughout the day with the market reaching its peak in the last hour of trading. Resource stocks bounced back after spending most of the week in negative territory, while industrials and property stocks also showed strength.

At lunch, the All Ords was up 29.2 points to be at 3,790.6, while the ASX/200 gained 30.8 to be at 3,794.1. Over 1.5 billion shares, or $2.7 billion had changed hands.

The major banks put on a late session rally after being flat at lunch. ANZ added 1.1%, while NAB and CBA put on 1.4% and 0.9% respectively. Westpac was left behind, settling 0.1% below the line.

The broader Banks and Financial sector rose 0.9%. Macquarie Group climbed 0.8%.

Among the insurers, AXA Asia Pacific and AMP rose 2.5% and 3.1%, while QBE reversed a morning loss, eking out a 0.3% gain.

Property Trusts was the market's stand out sector, adding 1.6%. Westfield rose 1.8%, while Stockland and GPT Group put on 2% and 2.3%.

Dexus rose 2.2%, while Mirvac bucked the trend, losing 0.5%.

Materials and Resources added 0.9% on the back of heavyweight BHP Billiton, which added 1.1%. Rio Tinto rose 1.6% with ratings agency Standard & Poor's upgrading its credit rating.
 
Steel stocks were lower, with Onesteel and Bluescope down 2% and 0.8% after strong gains yesterday.

Amcor shed 1.7% after responding to a recent rally in its share price, saying discussions with Rio Tinto, in relation to the potential acquisition of part of the Alcan Packaging businesses owned by Rio, were incomplete.

Fortescue gave up 2%, while OZ Minerals continued recent gains with a 1.7% rise.

Gold miners were mixed with Newcrest and Sino Gold adding 1.9% each, while Lihir Gold posted a 0.7% gain.

Orica and Incitec Pivot rose 1.4% and 3.2% respectively. James Hardie rose 4.5%, while Brickworks slumped 2.3%.

Consumer Staples stocks stuck with a recent trend, collectively not drifting far from the gain line. The sector added 0.8%.

Wesfarmers was the sector's major mover, rising 1.8%. Woolworths rose 0.3%

Metcash was up 0.2%, while ABB shed 0.3%.

Drink makers Coca-Cola Amatil and Lion Nathan edged 1.2% and 0.2% higher, while Fosters lost 0.4%.

Consumer Discretionary stocks were 0.7% above the line. Consolidated Media fell 0.4%, with reports James Packer has invested nearly $25 million in the company in the last two days in response to a raid by Channel Seven’s Kerry Stokes.

Seven rose 3.8%. Newscorp added 0.1% and Fairfax climbed 0.4%.

JB Hi-Fi ended 0.4% down, while Harvey Norman rose 0.7% in a quiet day for retailers. Pacific Brands slumped 3.8% to 89.5 cents after hitting lows of 12c in March.

Crown lost 0.1%.

Energy rose 0.2% despite Woodside drifting 0.5% lower.

Santos and Origin were up 0.8% and 0.5% respectively,  while Oil Search shed 1%.
 
Uranium specialist ERA was the sector stand out, rising 4%, while peer Paladin Energy sank 1.1%.

WorleyParsons sank 0.7%.

Industrials put on 0.9%, with Brambles up 1.6%.

Toll-road operator Transurban shed 1.3% after reporting a 7.5% climb in revenue for the year, while Leightons edged 1.6% higher.

Asciano Group and Macquarie Infrastructure rose 2.6% and 1.2%.

CSR shed 0.3%. Qantas rose 0.5%, while Toll fell 1%.

The Telecommunications sector gained 1.0% on the back of a 1.2% jump from Telstra.

Healthcare gained 0.2%, with CSL up 0.1%. Cochlear shed 1.5%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 dropped 3.8 to 9,287.3, the Straits Times Index rose 4.7 to 2,312.3 and NZSE50 dipped 3.4 to 2,738.3. The Hang Seng rose 20.0 to 17,810.6

Spot gold was trading at US$913.20 per ounce and the Aussie was buying US$0.7814.  

---

S&P upgrades rating on Rio
Standard & Poor’s had upgraded its long and short-term corporate credit and debt ratings on Rio Tinto from BBB/A-3 to BBB+/A-2. The ratings agency said the upgrade was due to the diversified miner providing much improved liquidity and lowering leverage as a result of completing its $15.2 billion rights issue.

At the bell, Rio Tinto shares were up 76c to $48.36.

St Barbara FY10 cash flow to be impacted
St Barbara shares dropped over 7% Friday morning as the company revealed FY10 operating cash flows would be impacted by the planned investment in Gwalia mine development and lower than previously anticipated gold production. The company also said the forecast cash position does not support the potential full redemption of the convertible notes on 4 June 2010.

At the close, St Barbara shares were down 1c to 19c.

Worley appointed project manager
WorleyParsons has been appointed as Project Management Study Contractor to the Oakajee Port and Rail Project owned by Murchison Metals and Mitsubishi Development. In a statement released by OPR today it said WorleyParsons would conduct the budget and engineering study for OPR’s Bankable Feasibility Study.

At the finish, WorleyParsons shares were down 15c to $20.80, while Murchison shares were up 1c to $1.30.

Boart secures debt refinancing
Boart Longyear said it has agreed with seven banks to refinance and extend the company’s existing credit facilities, which currently stands at US$850m, in a reduced amount. The drilling products and services provider said completion of the mandate and term sheet remains subject to a number of requirements, conditions and approvals.

At the end of the day, Boart Longyear shares were up 1.5c to 25.5c.

Transurban annual revenue jumps 7.5%
Transurban Group said that for the June quarter, revenue hit $195.5 million, up 5.1% from the March quarter. The toll-road operator said for the year to 30 June revenue was $778.7 million, up 7.5%.

At the bell, Transurban shares were down 5c to $3.95.

Amcor says talks with Rio incomplete
Amcor said discussions with Rio Tinto in relation to the potential acquisition of part of the Alcan Packaging businesses owned by Rio were incomplete. The company was responding to a price query by the Australian Securities Exchange, which was a result of a sudden increase in the packaging company’s share price and trading volumes.

At the close, Amcor shares were down 9c to $5.08.

Source