Sydney, Oct 24, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Wall Street shares staged a spirited rebound overnight, as the turnaround was driven by the energy sector, which was reacting to higher oil prices.
During yesterday's trading, Australian stocks closed lower for the second consecutive day on Thursday, falling by more than 4%. The market was dragged down by big losses in the resources sector amid renewed fears of a global economic slowdown. The two days drop gave up all the gains early this week.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 ended down 181.7 points, or 4.4%, at 3974.38, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 180.8 points, or 4.4%, to 3939.32.
In early trade today, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 1.1%, or 43.9 points, to 4018.3.
The Australian dollar opened weaker for the third successive day as a slide in crude oil prices to a 16-month low boosted the US currency but hurt high yielding currencies like the Aussie dollar. At 7am, the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.6656/60, down marginally from yesterday's close of US$0.6669/73.
Oil prices rebounded on Thursday as OPEC prepared to cut production to shore up prices that have sagged in the fallout of an escalating global financial crisis. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, closed at US$67.84 per barrel, up US$0.94 from the close on Wednesday.
Key Economic Facts and Figures
According to figures released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), international bank lending shrank by 3 per cent between April and June, the sharpest decline in more than 30 years, revealing the depth of the credit squeeze between lenders before the recent series of government-led bailouts. It shows that borrowers' total international claims declined by $US1.1 trillion to $US39.1 trillion.
The Housing Industry Association-Commonwealth Bank First Home Buyer Affordability Index for the September quarter showed an improvement of 3 per cent in the metropolitan area - the first increase since March 2007. The index showed affordability improved over the past quarter in Sydney (14 per cent), Melbourne (3.8 per cent) and Hobart (0.9 per cent), and declined in Perth (-7.6 per cent), Brisbane (-1.5 per cent) and Canberra (-12.9 per cent).
M&A News
Origin Energy's(ASX:ORG) A$10 billion sale of Queensland coal seam gas assets to ConocoPhillips(NYSE:COP) has been approved by Treasurer Wayne Swan and is now expected to be finalised next week.
The merger of Westpac(ASX:WBC) and St George bank(ASX:SGB) has been approved by the Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan. Strict condition will be imposed that Westpac is required to maintain the existing number of Westpac and St George branches and ATMs, including in non-urban areas.
Babcock & Brown(ASX:BNB) says that the company is considering at least six potential offers to inject much-needed capital into the troubled group from a range of investors including specialist fund managers, but any deal is unlikely to come to fruition before the new year.
Important Corporate News
Perpetual Investment Management(ASX:PPT), one of Australia's biggest mortgage fund managers, froze A$2 billion of investor funds as suffering from being excluded from government's deposit guarantee scheme. It said it had suspended applications and redemptions on its monthly income and mortgage funds after "a sharp increase in redemptions from mortgage funds across the industry".
CVC Asia Pacific is believed to be thinking about injecting more capital into PBL Media, a move that could reduce the 25% stake in the media group held by James Packer's Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd. (ASX:CMJ).
Santos Ltd(ASX:STO) increased its revenue 16% to A$730 million for the three months to September 30, 2008 compared with the same quarter last year. Santos says the outlook for the company remains positive after delivering a rise in revenue in the third quarter.
Metal recycler Sims(ASX:SGM) says its earnings rose sharply in the first quarter. Net profit rose 175 per cent to A$145.1 million in the three months ended September 30, from A$57.3 million in the same period last year.
1. Related Stocks - Mid Market
------------------------------------------------------Code % Change Volume Turnover Low High------------------------------------------------------ASX:ORG +.63 1,084,673 $17,334,091 1580 1619ASX:WBC -.32 2,516,645 $53,816,602 2112 2186ASX:SGB +.67 253,922 $7,169,226 2784 2881ASX:BNB -8.91 3,112,969 $4,601,017 136.5 163ASX:PPT -9.85 61,781 $2,582,445 4038 4299ASX:CMJ +1.51 992,917 $2,021,148 194 208ASX:STO +.36 1,674,113 $19,242,002 1091 1151ASX:SGM -6.94 272,449 $4,357,111 1550 1700------------------------------------------------------
2. Top 10 ASX on Turnover - Mid Market
------------------------------------------------------Code % Change Volume Turnover Low HighASX:BHP -.89 11,159,583 $275,675,504 2391 2464ASX:ANZ -.88 5,086,617 $91,485,964 1766 1850ASX:RIO -1.49 1,145,781 $76,639,344 6550 6725ASX:NAB -2.39 2,638,698 $66,917,862 2484 2607ASX:CBA -.82 1,366,431 $56,286,651 4076 4204ASX:WBC -.27 2,513,645 $53,752,372 2112 2186ASX:NCM +2.93 2,559,728 $47,521,826 1750 1800ASX:WDC -6.08 3,027,756 $43,903,317 1389 1505ASX:CSL -.05 1,209,786 $42,200,250 3389 3618ASX:TLS -.49 6,478,567 $26,323,063 402 410------------------------------------------------------
Contact
Michelle Liang
Asia Business News Asia Bureau
Tel: +61-2-9247-4344
Email: michelle.Liang@abnnewswire.net
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