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At midday, the S&P/ASX200 index was up 50 points, while the All Ordinaries added 51.
Wall Street made modest gains on Wednesday, buoyed by a stronger-than-expected report on durable manufactured goods.
At close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 45 points, while the Nasdaq Composite added five.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was up 385 points at midday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 292.
Meanwhile, in ASX news, shares in eastern Australian grain trader GrainCorp plunged more than ten per cent this morning, after it reported a first half net loss of $6.5 million.
MD Mark Irwin said that the continued drought across eastern Australia had had a major impact on the business, reducing grain receivals and stocks. GrainCorp, which recently launched a $386 million takeover bid for livestock feed maker Ridley Corp, said that despite the drought its fundamentals remained strong.
In other news, energy giant Santos this morning entered a trading halt pending an announcement. This follows the news that it has entered the final stages of talks to sell a stake in its proposed liquefied natural gas plant in Gladstone.
Industry experts believe that Santos plan to sell a 30-40 per cent stake in the $7.7 billion LNG plant. Energy majors Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP are being cited as potential partners. Shares in Santos last traded at $18.98.
Finally, insurance and wealth manager Tower Australia Group today reported an 81 per cent rise in net profit to $30.9 million, underpinned by higher premium revenue and lower claims
Tower Australia said that despite tight economic times, the group has continued to see sound growth. Shares in Tower rose more than eight per cent this morning.
On the ASX today, resource stocks rose despite falling metal prices. At midday BHP Billiton was up 84 cents, Fortescue Metals added 35, Rio Tinto put on $2.45, while Woodside Petroleum gained $2.07.
Banking stocks made modest gains. ANZ was up two cents at noon, Commonwealth Bank put on eight, National Australia Bank added 26 cents and Westpac gained 48 cents.
Other major blue chips were muted at noon. AMP was up three cents, News Corp added seven, Telstra gained a cent, while Woolworths sat flat at midday.
Wall Street made modest gains on Wednesday, buoyed by a stronger-than-expected report on durable manufactured goods.
At close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 45 points, while the Nasdaq Composite added five.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was up 385 points at midday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 292.
Meanwhile, in ASX news, shares in eastern Australian grain trader GrainCorp plunged more than ten per cent this morning, after it reported a first half net loss of $6.5 million.
MD Mark Irwin said that the continued drought across eastern Australia had had a major impact on the business, reducing grain receivals and stocks. GrainCorp, which recently launched a $386 million takeover bid for livestock feed maker Ridley Corp, said that despite the drought its fundamentals remained strong.
In other news, energy giant Santos this morning entered a trading halt pending an announcement. This follows the news that it has entered the final stages of talks to sell a stake in its proposed liquefied natural gas plant in Gladstone.
Industry experts believe that Santos plan to sell a 30-40 per cent stake in the $7.7 billion LNG plant. Energy majors Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP are being cited as potential partners. Shares in Santos last traded at $18.98.
Finally, insurance and wealth manager Tower Australia Group today reported an 81 per cent rise in net profit to $30.9 million, underpinned by higher premium revenue and lower claims
Tower Australia said that despite tight economic times, the group has continued to see sound growth. Shares in Tower rose more than eight per cent this morning.
On the ASX today, resource stocks rose despite falling metal prices. At midday BHP Billiton was up 84 cents, Fortescue Metals added 35, Rio Tinto put on $2.45, while Woodside Petroleum gained $2.07.
Banking stocks made modest gains. ANZ was up two cents at noon, Commonwealth Bank put on eight, National Australia Bank added 26 cents and Westpac gained 48 cents.
Other major blue chips were muted at noon. AMP was up three cents, News Corp added seven, Telstra gained a cent, while Woolworths sat flat at midday.
