Sydney Stocks Rebound; Brisbane River Peak Below Estimate

Chandrasekhar Atreya
13 Jan, 2011
New York City

Stocks in Sydney posted the largest one-day gain in 2011 as flood waters abate and record jobs data. QR National plans to open next week, the Blackwater Coal line used by BHP and Rio Tinto. Santos confirms its investment of $16 billion in Gladstone LNG project in Queensland.

[R]6:00 PM Sydney, Australia – Stocks in Sydney posted the largest one-day gain in 2011 as flood waters abate and record jobs data. QR National plans to open next week, the Blackwater Coal line used by BHP and Rio Tinto. Santos confirms its investment of $16 billion in Gladstone LNG project in Queensland.[/R]



Sydney stocks posted their biggest single-day gain in 2011 following a return of investor sentiment after Portugal completed the sale of bonds and threats from floods abate. Santos confirmed approval of $16 billon investment in its Gladstone LNG project in the south east.

The ASX 200 Index gained 1.5% or 71 to close at 4,795.20 and the Australian dollar settled at 99.45 U.S cents at close of trade in Sydney today.

Much of Brisbane remains submerged under flood water but failed to reach 1974 peak as feared by authorities. At least 15 people are dead and sixty are missing according to the latest local police estimate.

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted flash flooding across the state of Tasmania following heavy rains which have forced the closure of roads in the east. The town of St Helens was the worst hit and police have closed the Tasman Highway.

Rains in Queensland have affected some border towns of New South Wales. Victoria districts in the northwest are also facing flood threats following heavy rains.

QR National acknowledging that its coal haulage tonnages will be hit by the floods and said it will reopen its Blackwater coal rail system next week, which is used by the largest miners BHP and Rio Tinto.

The year 2010 was one of the strongest-year on record for the labor market, with more than 360,000 jobs added, most of them full-time, driving the jobless rate in the year down to 5%.

However, Australian employers added fewer workers than anticipated in December, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The number of people employed rose by 2,300 from November, the bureau said in Sydney today.

Flooding in Queensland is likely to cost one of the state’s biggest insurers, Suncorp, up to A$360 million. The bill consists of damage from insurance claims and the cost of restoring its own reinsurance protection.

The bill came as floodwaters in Brisbane and Ipswich swamped everything from riverfront properties to business and shopping areas.

Transurban Group said today that revenue from its toll roads experienced double-digit growth in the quarter ended December and toll revenue coming increased 18.8% to A$228.3 million from a year ago quarter.

Melbourne’s CityLink, which is the company’s largest asset, posted growth of 16.3% in the quarter, to register the fourth quarter of double-digit growth in a row, the company said.

Energy Resources of Australia Ltd, the uranium miner, said output of uranium oxide in the year 2010 fell by 46% due to lower mill head grade.

The 2010 output was 3,793 tons, down from 5,240 tons in the previous year. However, the output was 1,165 tons in the December quarter, up 28% from the previous quarter, and 2% higher than the December quarter of 2009.

Stock Movers

Mining and metals closed higher with positive leads from offshore commodity and equity markets.

BHP Billiton gained 1.88% to A$46.05 and rival Rio Tinto surged 2.18% to A$87.05.

ANZ added 24 cents to A$22.96 and National Australia Bank gained 41 cents to A$24.20. Westpac Banking Corp rose by 34 cents to close at A$22.32 and Commonwealth Bank closed 78 cents higher at A$51.13.

Insurers rebounded from recent losses. Insurance Australia Group or IAG added 11 cents to A$3.85 and Suncorp gained 18 cents to A$8.47.

Caltex Australia declined 18 cents to A$13.96 while Oil Search was down 9 cents to A$6.91. Santos gained 2.2% to A$13.45 after it received the approval for the Gladstone LNG project in Queensland.