Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 7/23/13

MID-SESSION REPORT
(12.30pm AEST)

Both the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) and the ASX200 (XJO) are trading above 5000.0pts, for one of the first times in a few months. The XAO is up 0.5 per cent with almost all sectors trading higher. The energy sector along with the utilities are losing ground.

Australia's third largest iron ore producer, Fortescue Metals (FMG) is up 0.27 per cent after issuing its quarterly production report this morning. FMG recorded a 41 per cent rise in ore shipments over the past 12 months and a 24 per cent jump to 25 million tons over the fourth quarter. FMG is having its best month since June 2009, with its share price up by 20 per cent in July.

PNG focused oil explorer, developer and producer, Oil Search (OSH) is down by 1.2 per cent at lunch following its second quarter production report. OSH recorded a 4.2 per cent rise in quarterly production while revenue jumped by 16.4 per cent thanks to higher sales volumes. OSH is up by around 17 per cent since the start of January, adding to 2012's 12 per cent rise.

Last night was the best session of 2013 for gold prices, with the price of the precious metal jumping by US$42 an ounce. Australia's biggest gold miner, Newcrest Mining (NCM) is up 7 per cent, taking the gains for the week to 14.5 per cent. Note that NCM is still down by 42 per cent this calendar year.

Toy distributor, Funtastic (FUN) has cut its profit guidance and completed a $15 million placement at an offer price of $0.17. FUN shares are down 5.5 per cent today, taking the losses Year-to-Date to 27.5 per cent. FUN operates three main divisions - Funtastic Australia, Funtastic Brands, and Madman Entertainment. It has offices in Australia, Hong Kong and China and a market capitalisation locally of $100.1 million.

The major banks are modestly higher while BHP Billiton (BHP) is 0.9 per cent stronger and the smaller Rio Tinto (RIO) is up 0.6 per cent.

There is no major economic data in Australia or the region today to move markets.

At lunch, 755m shares have changed hands, worth $1.6bn. 487 stocks are higher, 258 in the red and 277 are flat.

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