Australian Indexes Jump 1%, David Jones Receives $2 B Bid

Marcus Jacob
09 Apr, 2014
New York City

Australian indexes jumped 1% and the Aussie dollar edged near 94 U.S. cents. David Jones received an unsolicited offer from South Africa based retailer and Myer Holdings withdrew its offer.

[R]5:00 PM Sydney – Australian indexes jumped 1% and the Aussie dollar edged near 94 U.S. cents. David Jones received an unsolicited offer from South Africa based retailer and Myer Holdings withdrew its offer.[/R]

The Australian market indexes rose 1% and reached a five-year high in a broad rally that lifted stocks across all sectors. Also, Aussie dollar edged up near 94 U.S. cents.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported home loans granted in February jumped 2.3% to 52,460 valued to $27.64 billion.

The report also showed that total amount loaned increased 2.9% to $27.64 billion and loans for investment housing increased 4.4% but loans to first time home buyers declined 12.5%.

Australian dollar closed at 93.67 U.S. cents and stock market trading turnover climbed to 848 million shares worth $5 billion.

The ASX 200 index jumped 53.20 or 0.9% to 5,463.80 and the broader All Ordinaries climbed 51.10 to 5,460.30.

Stocks in Review

Rio Tinto gained 64 cents to $65.14. BHP jumped 52 cent to $38.40. Woodside Petroleum Limited jumped 1% to $39.31.

Westpac Banking Corp increased 24 cents to $34.70.

David Jones Limited surged 22.6% to $3.91 after the department store operator agreed to a takeover offer from South Africa-based Woolworth Holdings Ltd for about $2.15 billion.

Dart Energy Ltd climbed 4.7% to 11 cents after the company has completed the sale of its entire stake in Xiushan shale gas project to an existing partner for a nominal consideration.

Myer Holdings Ltd jumped 3.9% to $2.39 after the department store operator withdrew its $3 billion proposal to merge with David Jones that was originally floated in October 2013.

Worleyparsons Limited soared 6.9% to $16.55 after the engineering company plans to simplify its business structure. The restructuring is expected to cost $35 million and reduce overheads to boost margins from next financial year.