Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 11/1/13

Mid Session Report
(12:30 AEDT)

Sellers have made several attempts to push the market lower in early trade although the local index has shown the resilience that has become something of a trade mark in recent weeks.

At its worst levels the markets had shed 20 points. In fact there were 3 occasions in the first hour of trade where the market was trading at such a loss. The failure by sellers to be able to advance the losses on the 3rd occasion highlighted the conviction of buyers and thereafter the market recovered to be largely flat at lunchtime.

A strong half-year profit result from Macquarie Group (MQG.AU) has seen the shares rise more than 4%. The investment bank reported a 39% increase in profit to $501 million and announced a distribution of one Sydney Airport security for each Macquarie share held by Macquarie shareholders. The result indicates that MQG's operating environment is improving which is an encouraging sign for the broader market.

David Jones (DJS) shares have risen after reporting a 2.1 per cent rise in sales to $424.2 million during the September quarter. Like for like sales numbers - which exclude changes in the business - were flat, down 0.3 per cent to $414.2 million. Outgoing CEO Paul Zahra said the business was well placed for the Christmas and clearance trading periods through new merchandise partnerships with UK brands Harrods and Liberty. DJS year old web store, has increased 10-fold during the quarter and made a positive profit contribution for the year

Shares in Bega (BGA) rose to a record high after the world´s biggest dairy exporter Fonterra bought a six per cent stake. The New Zealand-based group paid $4.95 a share or a 12 per cent premium on Bega´s Thursday closing price. The news of Fonterra´s $46 million purchase sent Bega shares to a record high of $4.94 as market opened at marking a 12 per cent rise

The Australian Industry Group´s (Ai Group) Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) rose 1.5 points to 53.2 in October. Manufacturing activity expanded, boosted by gains in the food, beverages and tobacco sub sector. It was the second month in a row the index was above 50, indicating activity in the sector is in expansion.

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