Sydney Drops 1.4%; BHP Net Doubles

Chandrasekhar Atreya
25 Aug, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Australia fell as neither party won a clear majority in the election also weak home sales in the U.S. dragged international markets lower. BHP Billiton profit nearly doubled. Total construction work done rose in the quarter to June.

[R]6:00 PM Sydney, Australia – Stocks in Australia fell as neither party won a clear majority in the election also weak home sales in the U.S. dragged international markets lower. BHP Billiton profit nearly doubled. Total construction work done rose in the quarter to June.[/R]

Australian shares fell after positive company results were marred by weak U.S. home sales and a soft forecast for manufacturing in China. The benchmark index declined steadily in the session.

The ASX 200 Index dropped 1.4% or 61.20 to close at 4,320.10.

Political uncertainty still prevails in the nation after Australia began tallying as many as 2 million uncounted votes from the August 21 election, seeking to break an election deadlock after neither party received a clear majority.

Julia Gillard led Labor Party won 71 seats in the House of Representatives, while Tony Abbott led Liberal-National coalition won 72 seats according to details posted on the Web site of the Australian Electoral Commission with some 76% of the votes counted by 5 p.m. Sydney time.

The three independent lawmakers being wooed by both sides have released a list of seven demands to secure their support.

Melbourne Airport, also known as Asia Pacific Airports, refinanced A$1.25 billion in bank debt with a group of 7 banks, according to a statutory filing with the Australian Stock Exchange.

Total construction work done in Australia rose 3.5% in chain volume terms in the quarter ended June 30, seasonally adjusted, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The Bureau said Wednesday the total construction work done was valued at A$41.655 billion in the quarter to June, compared with an upwardly revised A$40.264 billion in the quarter to March.

Total building work done in the quarter was A$21.419 versus A$20.332 and engineering work done was the balance A$20.236 versus A$19.993 in the previous quarter.

Suncorp reported more than double net profit of A$780 million for the full year ended June 30, and also announced a final dividend of 20 cents a share, a result that was well above market expectations.

BHP Billiton Ltd reported a doubling of second half profit after prices of copper, nickel and aluminum rose boosting profits for the miner.

Net income was A$6.587 billion for the six month period ended June 30, from A$3.26 billion a year ago, according to full year details released by the company today. The company also slashed net debt by 41% to A$3.3 billion.

The full year net was A$14.5 billion as against A$6.60 billion in the previous fiscal.

Resource News

Western Plain Resources updated the mineral resource estimates at its flagship Peculiar Knob direct shipping iron ore project, south of Coober Pedy in South Australia.

A handful of miners are hoping to strike it rich in South America, home to some of the world’s highest grade deposits of gold and iron ore.

Cadia Holdings Pty Ltd, a division of Newcrest Mining Ltd, will be reimbursed most of the royalty payments made to the NSW government for copper extracted along with gold at the operations near Orange according to a high court ruling made Wednesday.

Gainers & Losers

Pacific Brands Ltd led the gainers in the ASX 200 with a gain of 12.43% to A$0.995 followed by Cudeco Ltd 7.66% to A$2.39 and Emeco Holdings Ltd 6.94% to A$0.77.

Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd led the decliners in the ASX with a drop of 9.46% to A$0.335 followed by Worleyparsons Ltd 9.17% to A$20.2 and Macarthur Coal 8.98% to A$11.25.