Ansell Limited

Ansell Limited (ASX:ANN) (PINK:ANSLF) today announced Profit Attributable for the first half of US$61.0m, up 12% on the previous year's US$54.3m.

Australian shares posted a strong gain on Wednesday while Wall Street and Asian markets picked up on a brightened outlook and higher commodities prices. The local market was also lifted by a bunch of upbeat profit results. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index surged 100.1 points, or 2.2 per cent, at 4667.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index jumped 96 points, or 2.1 per cent, to 4686.8.

Dr. Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN agency in charge of the Kyoto Protocol, has just confirmed that a representative from their Accreditation and Project Assessment unit will be meeting with carbon buyers and sellers in China

Overnight Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 points for the first time in a year, as the investors were encouraged by the better-than-expected earnings from Intel and JPMorgan Chase. The gains in stocks market were also helped by the positive September US retail sales data, which could be a further confirmation of a recovery.

Overnight US stocks rose for a fourth consecutive session led by industrial stocks. But market sentiment were dented after Federal Reserve report showed that consumer spending was still soft and retail sales were flat. The report also said labour market conditions remained weak across all districts.

Wall Street ended lower in light trading on Friday as reports showed weak consumer sentiment in August and an unexpected decline in July retail sales. The weak reports prompted investors to lock in gains from the recent rally.

Yesterday the Australian share ended 3.1% higher lifted by banks and miners. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 103.5 points at 3,451.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 96.1 points, or 2.91 per cent, to 3,393.4. Today the local market has delivered a strong opening boosted by Wall Street's rally.

Yesterday the Australian market closed slightly lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 0.6%, or 19.9 points, at 3488.7, while the broader All Ordinaries index dropped 0.5%, or 17.2 points, to 3428.6.

Yesterday the Australian shares closed slightly lower with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index down 0.3%, or 9.3 points, at 3428.6, while the broader All Ordinaries index declined 0.3%, or 9.7 points, at 3372.6. The market opened higher after the positive lead from the US and UK, but could also be rocked by the earnings of NAB and News Corp.

Today is going to be another tough day after Wall Street stocks tumbling in late trade overnight as investors worry governments around the world will fail to avert a global recession.