Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 10/25/13

Evening Report

Local stocks went against the regional trend today which saw most of the leading indices lose ground. The improvement on Friday has meant that over the last 5 days the index has gained about 1.2%.

GPT Group (GPT) rose by 0.5%. The group has purchased two properties totalling more than $88 million. In New South Wales (NSW), GPT has acquired a warehouse and logistics property adjacent to the Yennora Intermodal facility in Sydney's west for $43.6 million. The property is leased to a major third party logistics provider; it has been purchased on an initial yield of 9.4 per cent. In Queensland (Qld), the group has purchased a warehouse facility at Yatala for $44.5 million, which is located close to the M1 Motorway, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The asset has been purchased on an initial yield of 10.1 per cent.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG.AU) lost 1.5%. The insurer has received about 600 claims. Assessors have unable to visit all affected areas and fires still burning it was too soon to give an indication of cost. The company´s exposure is capped at A$150 million this year, after which its reinsurance kicks in.

Gold slipped in Asian trade after a 1.1% rise overnight. The yellow metal has been well supported on the belief that the Fed will delay tapering Q.E until the late part of Q1 2014.

In regional trade the lack of catalysts left regional markets moving lower. In Japan, the Nikkei remained under pressure from a yen that has firmed up in recent sessions. The Japanese currency maintained its strength, which helped pull the Nikkei down 1%. Chinese markets were slightly lower, moderating after larger declines in the previous two sessions. Hong Kong´s Hang Seng Index lost 0.3% and the Shanghai Composite was less than 0.1% down.

At its AGM BHP said it's seeing moderate growth rates in the U.S. economy and a stronger U.S. housing sector and stock market. BHP expects a continued recovery in the U.S. despite risk from the unwinding of the Federal Reserve´s monetary easing policy. In Europe, conditions remain challenging although more stable with uncertainty likely to continue in the near term, In China, the world´s largest consumer of many commodities, economic growth is expected to rise at a rate of 7% next year.

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