The Australian sharemarket is slightly stronger after almost three hours of trade with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 0.29 pct or 14.1 pts to 4910.9.

One of the world's largest reinsurers, Swiss Re said that it is quite likely that Australia's risk ratings will increase due to a raft of recent natural disasters hitting Eastern Australia. Suncorp (SUN), which has the largest market share amongst the insurers in Queensland, is bouncing back after falling heavily yesterday. SUN is up 2.8 pct or 24 cents to $8.45. QBE Insurance (QBE) is in a trading halt until the earlier of the commencement of trade on Monday, 7th February or when an announcement is released to the market. Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is up 3.02 pct or 11 cents to $3.75.

[Get this delivered to your inbox for FREE. Subscribe to our daily Markets Newsletter.]

Rare earth minerals explorer, Lynas Corp (LYC), up 2.31 pct or 4 cents to $1.77 after falling close to 9 pct on Wednesday due to the company's Executive Chairman selling a large portion of his shares in the company, spooking investors.

Gambling and Entertainment Company, Tabcorp (TAH) is up 3.04 pct or 22 cents to $7.12 after posting a 2.9 pct rise in first half profit to $265.5 million. The recent floods have apparently wiped out around $10 million in revenue however TAH does expect earnings growth over the next six months.

Australia's second largest airline, Virgin Blue (VBA) has been trading higher for most of the morning after the Australian Competition and Consumer Competition (ACCC) gave the go ahead to an alliance between VBA and Etihad Airways for the next 5 years.

Global Media Company, Newscorp (NWS) is up 2.67 pct or 45 cents to $17.31 after their second quarter profit doubled, thanks in part to gains in advertising revenue at its cable and broadcast - television stations. Social entertainment website, Myspace has been an underperformer for the company as it has not been able to successfully compete with its competitor, Facebook. NWS bought Myspace for $580 million 6 years ago and has now confirmed it is considering to sell the business.

Our big four banks are currently mixed with ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) up 0.8 pct or 19 cents to $23.94 and is currently the best performer.

On the economic front, the number of new cars sold in January has eased by 1.5 pct from December. The number of new building approvals has soared by 8.7 pct in December off the back of good growth in the building of apartments.

Several of the major Asian markets are closed for the Chinese New Year celebrations including Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Korean market.

The Australian dollar (AUD) has gained throughout the morning and currently buys US101.1 cents.
[Get this delivered to your inbox for FREE. Subscribe to our daily Markets Newsletter.]