Rio Tinto Surges 7%, Stockland Plunges 9%

123jump.com Staff
15 May, 2009
New York City

Australian stocks rebounded on a rise in commodities and energy prices. Australian dollar declined 1.5% for the week. Rio Tinto surged after it said it is committed to a deal with Aluminum Company of China. For the week, Australian dollar drops 1.5% and the benchmark index declines 4.3%.

[R]7:00PM Sydney, Australia – Australian stocks rebounded on a rise in commodities and energy prices. Australian dollar declined 1.5% for the week.[/R]

Stocks in Australia rebounded after commodities prices in London and New York gained and a rebound in the U.S. and Europe.

ASX 200 index in Australia increased 49.80 or 1.34% closed to 3,773.20. For the week the index declined 4.3%. The Australian dollar declined to 75.68 U.S. cents from 76.03 cents.

The Australian dollar has risen in the last six weeks on the hopes of global economic recovery from as low as 65 U.S. cents. The currency may fall below 63 cents by the end of the year if the global economy remains weak and takes longer to stabilize.

Gainers & Losers

Energy & Minerals Australia Ltd gained 17% to 34 cents after the Supreme Court dismissed all claims against its subsidiary Narnoo Mining Pty Limited filed by Yarri Mining Pty Ltd.

Exoma Energy Ltd surged more than 216% to 9.8 cents after it agreed to acquire coal seam gas and shale gas permits in Queensland with estimated gas reserves of 35 trillion cubic feet gas. The company will issue 114 million ordinary shares to vendors and will place 40 million shares at A$0.05 to raise A$2 million.

Rio Tinto Limited surged 7.4% to A$61.88 after it said in a statement that it is committed to investment from Chinalco. The UK based Daily Telegraph had reported that the company may be looking for alternative investments from other companies and UBS AG suggested that BHP Billiton may work with the company to raise capital.

Stockland, the largest home builder in Australia, plunged 9% after it completed its rights offering of 2 for 5 to institutional and retail investors and raised A$1.56 billion. The institutional investors purchased 500 million shares at A$2.70 for a total of A$1.56 billion.

ASX 200 Index Movers

Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group led the decliners in the ASX 200 index of 13.3% followed by losses in Macmahon Holdings Limited of 11.2%, in Sundance Resources Limited of 11.1%, in Stockland of 8.9% and in Murchison Metals Limited of 6.6%.

Independence Group NL led gainers in the ASX 200 index with a rise of 10.0% followed by gains in Challenger Financial Services Group Limited of 8.0%, in Rio Tinto Limited of 7.4% and Hills Industries Limited of 7.3%.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed higher 171.29 or 1.88% to 9,265.02, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased 249.01 or 1.51% closed to 16,790.70, CSI 300 index in China higher 3.52 or 0.13% closed to 2,796.12. ASX 200 index in Australia increased 49.80 or 1.34% closed to 3,773.20. The KL Composite index in Malaysia higher 2.22 or 0.22% closed to 1,014.21.

The Kospi Index in South Korea increased 10.78 or 0.78% to close at 1,391.73. SET index in Thailand closed higher 7.37 or 1.40% to 533.92 and JSE Index in Indonesia decreased 34.09 or 1.91% closed to 1,750.91. The Sensex index in India increased 300.51 or 2.53% closed to 12,173.42.