Aussie shares closed 1.3 per cent higher today, rising throughout the session buoyed by takeover activity, resource stocks and financials, with all four major banks closing stronger.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index is 62 points higher to finish at 4,710. On the futures market, the SPI200 is up 71 points.
To company news: The operator of the Australian Securities Exchange, ASX Ltd (ASX:ASX) and Singapore's stock exchange have announced plans to merge and create Asia’s second biggest exchange behind Japan. The deal values ASX at $8.4 billion, representing $48 per ASX share, which is 37.3 per cent up from its last trading price of $34.96, before the proposal was announced. The Singapore Exchange will pay $22.00 in cash plus 3.473 of its shares for every ASX share held under the terms of the proposed scheme of arrangement. While the deal will require approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel said this morning he could not see that a merger between both exchanges would raise competition concerns. Shares in ASX closed 19.42% up at $41.75.
Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX:MCC) says coal sales fell 4.5 per cent to 1.27 million tonnes for the three months ended on 30 September this year. The coal miner says the result was achieved in line with expectations, considering the effect from unseasonable wet weather in the Bowen Basin. The weather conditions did not have a significant impact on production, but Macarthur says it resulted in a reduction of stockpiles in order to fulfil scheduled shipments. Shares in Macarthur Coal closed 1.23% down at $12.85.
Shares in Aspire Mining Ltd (ASX:AKM) climbed over 10 per cent today, on news that a subsidiary of Ivanhoe Group, South Gobi Resources has acquired a 19.9 per cent interest.
Australasia Consolidated Ltd’s (ASX:AAO) shares soared over 30 per cent to close at $0.17. The gold and copper explorer today appointed Austal Ltd (ASX:ASB) chief Bob Browning as its new CEO.
Argo Investments Ltd (ASX:ARG) has boosted its profit guidance, flagging a 15 per increase in net profit for the half year ending on 31 December 2010.
Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX:LEI) has been awarded a US$733 million contract to build an oil export terminal near Basra in Iraq.
In the best and worst performers: All sectors closed in the black today, the best performing sector was Utilities with the index up 97 points to 4,614. The sector with the smallest gains was HealthCare with the index closing 18 points higher at 8,217. The best performing stock in the S&P/ ASX200 was ASX shares as mentioned before. Shares in Infigen Energy and St. Barbara also closed higher. The worst performing stock was Asciano Group shares dropping 2.08% to $1.645. Shares in Spotless Group and Pacific Brands also closed weaker today.
In commodities, gold is trading at $1339 US an ounce. And light crude is up $0.75 at $82.44 US a barrel.
