Sydney Rallies; Woodside Finds Gas

Chandrasekhar Atreya
17 Aug, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Australia rallied on earnings optimism. RBA said it is comfortable with its interest rate policy as economic growth and inflation are within its target range. Coal Exports from Newcastle Port drops in the week ended August 16. Woodside discovers two new offshore gas fields.

[R]6:00 PM Sydney, Australia – Stocks in Australia rallied on earnings optimism. RBA said it is comfortable with its interest rate policy as economic growth and inflation are within its target range. Coal Exports from Newcastle Port drops in the week ended August 16. Woodside discovers two new gas finds offshore of Western Australia.[/R]

A late afternoon rally in stocks lifted trading volumes on positive comments in the Reserve Bank of Australia minutes and optimistic earning announcements and drove the indexes higher.

The ASX 200 Index in Sydney gained 0.87% or 38.50 points to close at 4,477.00.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said it was comfortable with the current level of interest rates as economic growth and inflation were on target while there was still a significant degree of volatility in financial markets.

“There is more uncertainty over the global outlook that there had been earlier in the year,” the Reserve Bank of Australia said in its minutes of August 3 meeting released today.

Aston Resources started trading on the stock exchange today at A$5.97 at a slim premium to the initial public offering price of A$5.96.

Coal exports from Newcastle port, the world’s largest coal export terminal, fell 21.3% in the past week due to a combination of weather-related disruptions and weaker demand.

Macmahon Holdings Ltd, an Australian mining and construction company, said fiscal full year profit soared 120% as demand for metals recovered. Net income increased to A$37.9 million in the year ended June 30, from A$17.2 million a year earlier, the Perth-based company said in its regulatory filing.

CFS Retail Property Trust, a Sydney based real estate investment trust investing in shopping centers in the country, said it swung back to full year profit after completing more developments and after rental incomes increased.

CFS posted net income of A$315 million in the full year ended June 30, from a A$366.9 million loss a year earlier, the company said in its filing to the Sydney Stock Exchange.

Sydney-based Commonwealth Property Office Fund said it swung to full year profit helped by an increase in property values. Net income was A$114.2 million in the year ended June 30, from a loss of A$543.7 million in the earlier year, according to a filing to the Sydney Stock Exchange.

Toll Group said Monday it completed the acquisition of its Chinese joint venture ST-Anda to launch its own brand in the Chinese market. The Australia-based logistics service provider acquired a 49% stake in ST-Anda to increase its ownership in the company to 100%, Toll said Monday without giving the details of the transaction.

Resources News

Chevron and Woodside Petroleum announced new gas finds offshore Western Australia on Tuesday. The Larsen Deep well intersected about 50 meters of gas off the northwest coast, Perth-based Woodside said in a statement to the stock exchange today. Yesterday Woodside said it found gas at the Alaric prospect, also intended to supply Pluto.

Chevron’s Acme well encountered gas in the Carnarvon Basin, the company said Monday.

MetroCoal announced its maiden inferred resource of 156 million tons from its Norwood Project after analyzing the recently completed drilling program.

Mt Isa Metals received high-grade gold assays from its preliminary sampling of artisanal gold mining sites at its Kongolokoro project in southwest Burkina Faso.

Highland Pacific reports significant drilling results from its infill drilling at its Frieda copper gold project in Papua New Guinea, including 0.75% copper at 404 meter and 0.66 gram per ton of gold from 8 meter below surface.

Mount Gibson was awarded $127.1 million in damages against Chinese mill Rizhao Steel making the final compensation payment following a series of shipment disputes that occurred in 2008.

Gainers & Losers

Isoft Group Ltd led gainers in the ASX 200 with a rally of 18.18% to A$0.195 followed by Gunns Ltd 13.82% to A$0.70 and Energy World Corp Ltd 8.54% to A$0.445.

Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd led decliners in the index with a fall of 7.69% to A$0.48 followed by Roc Oil Co Ltd 3.8% to A$0.38 and Sundance Resources Ltd 3.23% to A$0.15.