Weekly Surge of 3.4% in Sydney, Onthehouse Soars on Takeover Offer

Marcus Jacob
24 Dec, 2015
New York City

Australian market indexes gained and extended weekly gain to 3.4%. Australian dollar edged higher to 72.52 U.S. cents and gold and crude oil bounced from the recent lows. Real estate software developer Onthehouse soared on a takeover offer.

[R]4:30 PM Sydney – Australian market indexes gained and extended weekly gain to 3.4%. Australian dollar edged higher to 72.52 U.S. cents and gold and crude oil bounced from the recent lows. Real estate software developer Onthehouse soared on a takeover offer.[/R]

In the shortened trading hours, Australian market indexes closed higher and investors reacted to corporate news.

The Australian dollar edged up to 72.52 U.S. cents, while stock trading turnover declined to 278 million shares worth $1.9 billion.

At the market close, the ASX 200 Index jumped 65.80 or 1.3%, to 5,207.60 and the broader All Ordinaries Index increased 62.60 to 5,256.10.

For the week, ASX 200 soared 3.4%.

In commodities trading, gold slid US$3 to US$1,074 an ounce and Brent crude future for immediate month delivery added 42 cents to US$37.78 a barrel.

Australian Stock Movers

AGL Energy Ltd gained 0.9% to $17.51 after the infrastructure company signed a long term gas supply agreement with Gladstone LNG project to buy 254 petajoules gas for its Queensland project.

The participants in the Gladstone LNG project are Santos Ltd with interest of 30%, Petronas and Total each with a stake of 27.5% and KOGAS holding 15%.

Cimic Group Ltd increased 0.7% to $23.69 after the engineering construction company’s subsidiary Theiss won a contract worth $115 million to continue operation in Dawson Coal Mine of Central Queensland.

Enice Holding Co Ltd soared 13.3% to 34 cents after the wireless communications technology provider secured six new contracts worth $14.2 million.

The communications technology provider signed two expansion work contracts in Hebei and Henan provinces in China and four new contracts with China Tower Company.

Karoon Gas Australia Limited advanced 3.1% to $1.66 after the oil and gas explorer executed final agreements with members of the QGOG Constellation S.A. Group to build the Olinda Star semi-submersible drilling rig in Santos Basin.

The drilling is scheduled to commence in the third-quarter of 2016 and oil production is expected in the fiscal first-half of 2019.

Onthehouse Holdings Ltd surged 23.5% to 73.5 cents after the real estate software and website developer confirmed that it had received an unsolicited, non-binding, conditional and indicative proposal by a consortium led by Macquarie and CoreLogic Australia Holdings Pty Limited.

The offer of 75.5 cents per share in cash, represents a premium of 26.9% to the closing price of yesterday.