Australian Stocks Rebound After 3-day Fall; IAG in Deal with AMI

Marcus Jacob
16 Dec, 2011
New York City

Australian stocks rebounded after extending losses for three days in a row. ANZ said at the annual general meeting that it has enough capital to withstand the euro zone. Insurance Australia Group agreed to buy New Zealand based general insurance from AMI for NZ$380 million.

[R]8:00 PM Sydney – Australian stocks rebounded after extending losses for three days in a row. Resources led companies and banks were among the leading gainers. ANZ said at the annual general meeting that it has enough capital to withstand the euro zone. Insurance Australia Group agreed to buy New Zealand based general insurance from AMI for NZ$380 million.[/R]

Stocks in Sydney traded higher after falling for three days in a row and commodities rebounded in Asia and in international markets.

The ASX 200 index closed up 19.4 to 4,159.2 and All Ordinaries index added 21 to 4,218.8. For the week the ASX 200 index declined more than 1%.

The Australian dollar edged higher to US$0.999 after falling below 99 U.S. cents in intraday trading yesterday.

Australian economy continues to expand on the rising exports of resources and minerals however the strength in the resource sector is shared by fewer and fewer people. The two-speed economy and strong dollar has left most people outside of the mining sector struggling with stagnant wages and sharp upswing in inflation.

JB Hi-Fi, the discount electronics store was the latest among many to forecast weak holiday season sales as consumers look for bargain on the Internet sites based overseas.

Stock Movers

BHP Billiton Ltd rose $0.13 to $35.19 and Rio Tinto Ltd added $0.40 to $61.80.

Fortescue Metals Group increased 7 cents to $4.60, Lynas Corporation Limited closed up 2 cent to $1.17 and Iluka Resources fell $0.15 to $15.93.

BlueScope Steel Limited closed unchanged at 43.5 cents before it was halted and the company yesterday said retail investors participated in less than half of the secondary offering of $600 million.

Oil Search Limited traded up 10 cents to $6.35, Santos Limited added 3 cents to $12.65 and Woodside Petroleum increased $0.20 cents to $31.30.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia increased $0.50 to $49.13 and National Australia Bank fell 5 cents to $23.43. ANZ edged up 15 cents to $20.93. Westpac inched higher 5 cents to $20.51.

David Jones Limited fell 1 cent to $2.75 and Wesfarmers Limited decreased 27 cents to $30.50 Harvey Norman Holdings closed up 14 cents to $1.96.

Woolworths Limited closed up 33 cents to $26.26 and JB Hi-Fi Limited decreased $2.29 or 15.3% to $12.71 and yesterday after the close the company said in a filing with the ASX that it expects first half earnings to decline 5% from a year ago period if the trading conditions of the recent months persists in the Christmas season.

Qantas Airways Ltd closed unchanged at $1.52, Virgin Australia closed unchanged at 35.5 cents and Flight Centre fell 16 cents to $19.65.

QBE Insurance Group Limited decreased 7 cents to $13.51.