Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 11/6/13

Afternoon Market Update
(17:00 AEDT)

A reasonable performance from local stocks to end flat after the early deficit seen in the first ten minutes of trade. The ASX200 was at its best levels around the open when it was up by 1.5 points. Not long thereafter the lows were put in place when the index was down by 26 points. The market spent the remainder of the session trading higher, and by the final bell it just crossed the line into positive territory.

Volume today was respectable with a with $4.3 billion shares having changed hands. This dovetails with the dynamic seen in recent months where the market has tended to be well supported on weakness. Comings days will see more downward pressure come to bear on the market as leading stocks, mainly banks, go ex-dividend. For example Thursday will see NAB, ANZ and BOQ all lose their dividends.

Iron Ore producers were the bright spot in local trade, with junior miners leading the way. Atlas Iron Ore (AIO) rose by 7.3%, Mount Gibson (MGX) moved ahead by 4.8%. A host of Chinese data due at weeks end will determine whether this dynamic persists

Leighton´s (LEI) Middle East business has won a $169 million contract for work on the expansion of the Abu Dhabi international airport. The Habtoor Leighton Group will install supporting infrastructure, build roads and bridges and carry out electrical and plumbing work. The company will begin work in November and expects to complete the work in a timeframe of between 18 and 24 months. Leightons owns 45 per cent of Habtoor Leighton.

21st Century Fox (FOX) said its first quarter profit fell 44% to $1.26bn or 54 cents a share, down from $2.23bn. The figure was impacted by last year's asset sale which reflected a gain of $1.37 billion. 21st Century Fox recently spun off its publishing and Australian media assets into a new company that took the News Corp name. Fox retained the film and entertainment businesses, including the Fox broadcast network, several cable networks including FX and Fox News Channel, the Twentieth Century Fox film and TV studios, and interests in pay-TV operators. Earnings in the period were down 13% although revenue rose by 18%. FOX shares eased by 0.25%.

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