Weekly Rise of 1.4% in Australia, Transurban to Raise $2.7 B

Marcus Jacob
24 Apr, 2014
New York City

Australian stocks extended gains for the third day in a row in a short trading week. Transurban plans to raise $2.74 billion to finance its $6.6 billion Queensland Motorways. Atlas Iron Ore shipped record iron ore in the quarter to March.

[R]5:00 PM Sydney – Australian stocks extended gains for the third day in a row in a short trading week. Transurban plans to raise $2.74 billion to finance its $6.6 billion Queensland Motorways. Atlas Iron Ore shipped record iron ore in the quarter to March.[/R]

Australian stocks extended weekly gains to 1.4% in holiday shortened week. Market averages rebounded on the back of strong gains in international markets and earnings momentum in the U.S. and rising production outlook at domestic resource companies.

Australian dollar closed at 92.92 U.S. cents and stock market trading turnover gained to 631 million shares worth $5.02 billion.

The ASX 200 index rose 13.20 to 5,531 and the broader All Ordinaries gained 13.30 to 5,515.50.

Stocks in Review

Rio Tinto rose 19 cents to $62.98. BHP added 8 cents to $38.28. Woodside Petroleum Limited decreased 0.7% to $40.91.

Westpac Banking Corp gained 16 cents to $35.78.

Atlas Iron Limited jumped 2.1% to 97.5 cents after the iron ore producer said the company shipped record volumes of the steelmaking commodity in its fiscal third-quarter ending in March to 2.73 million metric tons, up from 2.70 million tons in the second-quarter.

The company achieved this despite harsh weather conditions in the period.

For the year, the company forecasted iron ore shipment between 10.2 million tons and 10.7 million tons.

Horizon Oil Limited last traded at 37 cents before the stock was halted after the company cited a major business transaction. The company is rumored to acquire a controlling stake in Roc Oil Company Limited which was halted in the session.

QRxPharma Ltd plunged 25% to 10.5 cents after the pharmaceutical company failed to get regulatory approval for its painkiller drug Moxduo in the United States.

Transurban Group closed unchanged at $7.27 after the Australia-based toll roads operator plans to raise $2.74 billion to finance its $6.6 billion purchase of Queensland Motorways, in its first foray into the third-most populous state of the country.

Transurban will hold a stake of 62.5% in the consortium.