Jobs Data Fuel a Rally in Australia

Mayank Mehta, Chandrasekhar Atreya and Sanjay Barot
08 Jul, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Australia rallied after the best quarterly job growth in June. The Australian dollar closed higher. Loading berths at two terminals closed in Hay Point port. Chalco is in talks with Rio Tinto to acquire a stake in Mongolia project.

[R]6:00 PM Sydney, Australia – Stocks in Australia rallied after the best quarterly job growth in June. The Australian dollar closed higher. Loading berths at two terminals closed in Hay Point port. Chalco is in talks with Rio Tinto to acquire a stake in Mongolia project.[/R]

Stocks in Australia surged as much as 2.4% today stoked by the best quarterly job growth in almost four years in June.

The ASX 200 Index in Sydney gained 2.4% or 102.10 to close at 4,356.70.

The number of new jobs added in the month of June increased by 45,900 and the jobless rate for June remained at 5.1%, the Statistic Bureau report in Sydney noted in a report. The number of full time jobs increased 18,400 and the number of part time jobs gained 27,500 in June.

BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance, also known as MBA and Prime Infrastructure Group have shut down berths at two terminals of Hay Point port to carry out maintenance.

Berth 2 at Hay Point’s Dalrymple Bay in Queensland was shut down by Prime Infrastructure on July 6, and the closure will last till July 28, Inchcape Shipping Services Pty said on its Web site. MBA’s Hay Point terminal berth was shut down yesterday and will last till August 10, Said Fiona Martin, BHP spokeswoman in her statement today.

QR National will also shut down the Goonyella rail system that services the harbor from July 14 to July 18 for scheduled maintenance it said today.

QR National, a Queensland state-owned freight system may have to delay its proposed initial share sale of A$3 billion because of worsening market conditions, the Australian Financial Review said, citing Queensland Investment Corporation’s CEO Doug McTaggart.

Australian stock futures rose today after a U.S. Trade group reported that retail sales in the world’s biggest economy grew at the fastest pace in four years.

Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 2% today.

Coal India Ltd wants to use a proposed sovereign fund to buy mines in Australia and other places that can supply an equivalent of 8% of domestic output as demand for energy rises, a government official said.

India may import or bring in at least 50 million tons of coal from foreign locations in 2017, to bolster local production that’s projected to reach 647 million tons, Alok Perti, Additional Secretary to the coal ministry, said in an interview in New Delhi yesterday.

“We have planned this keeping in mind the nation’s energy security as we can see clearly the demand-supply gap will continue to rise,” said Perti.

ASX Movers

CuDeco Limited led gainers in the S&P ASX 200 index with a rise of 7.6% followed by Gunns Limited 7.3%, Ausenco Limited 6.6% and Macquarie Group Limited 6.3%.

Boral Limited led decliners in the S&P ASX 200 index with a loss of 8.5% followed by Aquarius Platinum Limited 7.2%, Ansell Limited 1.6%, Brambles Limited 1.2% and Singapore Telecommunications Limited 1.1%.

Other Movers

BHP Billiton plc rose 1.9% to A$38.15.

Boral Limited plunged 9.8% to A$4.41 after the building materials maker completed the institutional portion of a rights offer at A$4.10.

CuDeco Limited, the mineral exploration company, surged 9.7% to A$4.62.

Newcrest Mining Limited rose 1.8% to A$34.11 tracking the gains in gold and precious metal prices.

Rio Tinto Limited added 2.2% to A$67.34 after the mining company said Aluminum Corp. of China, the producer of the metal, is in talks with the company to buy a stake in the $4.6 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia or the U.K. company’s partner in the project, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.