Australian Index Track Lower Oil Prices

Marcus Jacob
12 Jan, 2015
New York City

Australian indexes closed lower and the Aussie dollar edged up in thin trading as oil prices eased. Fairfax Media acquired the remaining 50% stake in Metro Media Publishing for $72 million.

[R]5:30 PM Sydney – Australian indexes closed lower and the Aussie dollar edged up in thin trading as oil prices eased. Fairfax Media acquired the remaining 50% stake in Metro Media Publishing for $72 million.[/R]

Australian market indexes eased in thin trading and weak oil futures dragged energy companies in Sydney trading lower.

Woodside and India based Adani Group signed several agreements to explore and process natural gas. The two companies announced a deal as a part of several agreements signed at the biennial Vibrant Gujarat on the second day of the global investment summit in Gandhinagar.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported seasonally adjusted total number of home loans in November dropped 0.7% to 52,079 from the downwardly revised 0.2% increase in October.

Investment lending declined 2.2% to $11.72 billion compared to 1% increase a month earlier.

Separately, the latest survey from ANZ Bank showed seasonally adjusted total number of job ads in December jumped 1.8% following 0.7% increase in November.

For the year, the number of job ads surged 11.4%, highest in last two-and-half-year.

Australian dollar closed at 82.45 U.S. cents and in stock-trading turnover slumped to 496 million shares worth $2.81 billion.

ASX 200 Index slipped 42.90 or 0.8% to 5,422.70 and broader All Ordinaries Index dropped 40.60 to 5,399.50.

In commodities trading, gold gained $14 to US$1,226 an ounce and light crude oil fell 29 cents to US$48.99 a barrel. Brent Crude declined 47 cents to close at US$60.11 a barrel.

Australian Stock Movers

Euroz Limited dropped 3.7% to $1.04 after the financial service provider said net profit in the first-half ending in December swung to a loss of $6.66 million compared to profit $12.39 million a year ago period.

Fairfax Media Limited gained 1.1% to 88 cents after the media and entertainment group agreed to acquire remaining 50% stake in Metro Media Publishing Holdings for about $72 million in cash and stock to expand its digital business.

Independence Group NL slipped 1.9% to $4.51 despite the mineral explorer lifted its annual production guidance to about more than double at each of its three Western Australian projects for exploring gold, nickel and zinc and copper.

Trade Me Group Ltd declined 4.5% to $3.43 after the online marketplace and advertising service provider agreed to acquire 15% stake in New Zealand-based peer-to-peer lending platform service provider Harmoney.com for $7.7 million.