Australian Stocks Rebound on Earnings; Westfield, Commonwealth Bank Rise

Marcus Jacob
15 Feb, 2012
New York City

Australian stocks edged higher after a flood of earnings. The largest Australian bank Commonwealth Bank reported earnings rise of 7% and retail mall developer Westfield Group said annual net soared 44% from a year ago. Fortescue Metals said first half net more than doubled.

[R]8:00 PM Sydney – Australian stocks edged higher after a flood of earnings. The largest Australian bank Commonwealth Bank reported earnings rise of 7% and retail mall developer Westfield Group said annual net soared 44% from a year ago. Fortescue Metals said first half net more than doubled.[/R]

Australian indexes gained after Westfield, Commonwealth Bank and Fortescue Metals reported strong earnings.

Market sentiment was also bolstered after comments from China’s central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan indicated that China may increase its involvement in resolving crisis in the euro zone.

The ASX 200 index increased 10.6 to 4,253.3 and All Ordinaries index added 8.5 to 4,327.4.

In trading, 1.9 billion shares changed hands worth $4.6 billion. Of the shares traded, 440 increased, 527 decreased and 393 were unchanged.

The Australian dollar edged higher to close at $1.0736.

Stock Movers

BHP Billiton Ltd fell 7 cents to $36.10 and Rio Tinto Ltd declined 41 cents to $68.87.

Fortescue Metals Group declined 8 cents to $5.53 and the iron ore miner lowered its production outlook for the current quarter ending in March and said first half earnings more than doubled to $801 million.

Lynas Corporation Limited closed lower 1 cent to $1.26 and Iluka Resources decreased 25 cents to $16.87. Newcrest Mining added 6 cents to $34.46.

Oil Search Limited decreased 2 cents to $6.48, Santos Limited added 3 cents at $13.82 and Woodside Petroleum increased 6 cents to $35.23.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia increased 27 cents to $50.23 and ANZ increased 1 cent to $21.70 and Westpac inched higher 6 cents to $20.96.

Commonwealth Bank said first half cash profit increased 7% to $4.576 billion on revenues of $23.7 billion. The bank will pay interim dividend of $1.37 a share, an increase of 5 cents from a year ago.

The bank generated 19.2% return of equity, one of the highest in the world as the company balances mortgage and corporate lending.

Commonwealth’s retail arm reported 3% increase in profit to $1.44 billion from a year ago and corporate banking net increased 10% to $551 million and wealth management arm’s profit declined 24% to $272 million.

Westfield Group increased 44 cents to $8.81 after the retail mall developer reported full year 2011 net profit increased 44% to $1.532 billion. The company also announced a joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for 12 malls in the U.S. to release more cash on the balance sheet.

David Jones Limited decreased 4 cents to $2.37 and Harvey Norman Holdings closed down 1 cent to $1.97. Wesfarmers Limited rose 30 cents to $29.85. James Hardie rose 3 cents to $7.15. Woolworths increased 14 cents to $25.13.

Qantas Airways Ltd rose 2 cents to $1.56, Virgin Australia closed unchanged at 35.5 cents and Flight Centre decreased 25 cents to $20.45.

QR National closed up 3 cents to $3.76.