Australian Stock Market Report

MIDDAY REPORT (12.30pm AEDT)

The Australian sharemarket is gaining for the second consecutive session at lunch, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 0.9 pct or 39.1 pts to 4245.7. The defensive healthcare and telecom services sectors are pulling back after a few hours of trade however.

Local shares are benefiting from a strong lead from both the European and U.S markets overnight. The mining sector was one of the standouts in offshore trade and this is flowing through to our resource players. BHP Billiton (BHP) is up 1.51 pct or 54 cents to $36.20 while RIO Tinto (RIO) is up 1.36 pct or 86 cents to $64.06.

The major banks are also improving, with Westpac (WBC) currently the best up 2.08 pct or 42 cents to $20.62. ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) is up 1.73 pct or 36 cents to $21.11, National Australia Bank (NAB) is 1.02 pct or 24 cents higher to $23.74 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is 0.64 pct or 32 cents stronger to $50.12.

It is no secret that the uranium miners need all the help they can get this year if they want to make up for the hefty losses recorded in 2011. One of Australia's biggest producers, Paladin Energy (PDN) is up 5.42 pct or 7.5 cents to $1.46 following a broker upgrade.

The retailers are mixed at lunch with David Jones (DJS) continuing to improve, up 2.08 pct or 5 cents to $2.45, Harvey Norman (HVN) is 1.56 pct or 3 cents higher to $1.95, Myer (MYR) is 1 pct or 2 cents stronger to $2.02. JB Hi-Fi (JBH) is down by around 0.69 pct or 8 cents to $11.55 while Westfield (WDC) is also a touch lower.

Following the start of daylight savings at the start of October, major Asian markets will be trading between the hours mentioned below until April next year (note that over the next month, some of the times might be slightly off due to several countries in the region changing their clocks at differing periods).

The Hong Kong sharemarket trades in two sessions each day and will now open for trade between 1pm (AEDT) and 3.30pm (AEDT) while the second session is between 5.30pm (AEDT) and 7pm (AEDT).

Out of Japan, the first session will be between 11am (AEDT) and 1pm (AEDT) while the second session is between 2.30pm (AEDT) and 5pm (AEDT). The Japanese sharemarket is closed today for Coming of Age Day. This is a day which congratulates those who have turned 20 over the past year and reminds them of their added responsibilities.

The Singapore exchange will be open for trade between 12pm (AEDT) and 3.30pm (AEDT) for the first session and then between 5pm (AEDT) and 8pm (AEDT) for the second.

Asian markets are mostly higher at lunch with South Korea's KOSPI index the exception, down 0.21 pct or 3.8 pts to 1849.42. Japan's Nikkei 225 is trading for the first the second time this week and is up 0.29 pct or 24.68 pts to 8446.94 while China's Shanghai Composite index is up 0.13 pct or 2.98 pts to 2288.73.

No major economic data is due for release today in Australia however the latest report on job vacancies for the three months between September and November last year.

So far in trade at lunch, 822 million shares have been traded worth $1.72 billion in what seems to be a slightly busier session of trade. 509 shares are up, 274 are lower and 332 are currently unchanged.

The Australian dollar (AUD) is a little weaker and buys US102.8 cents.

The AUD is the world's fifth most traded currency behind the U.S dollar, the Euro, Japanese Yen and British Pound. The AUD accounts for around 7 pct of all foreign exchange trades.

Steven Daghlian, CommSec Market Analyst

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