Australian Stock Market Report – Midday December 23, 2014

IN PHOTO: Today's Ordinaries Index curve is seen at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in central Sydney August 23, 2010. Australian financial markets bet on Monday that inconclusive weekend elections would deliver a change of government, ushering in a new minority conservative administration that would scrap a planned mining tax. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

 On the eve of Christmas eve, local shares have taken a pause after 4 sessions of gains in which the ASX 200 has risen by 290 points or 5.5%. The index started the session with a loss of 8 points before trading at the lows of the morning as lunchtime loomed. Local participants looked through the generally positive that featured in US and European trade overnight. European shares were firmer in the latest session with the FTSEurofirst 300 index up by 0.4% and the German Dax up by 0.8%. Investors were comforted by developments in Greece. Shares in Greece rose by 0.6% with Reuters reporting that "Prime Minister Antonis Samaras offered on Sunday to bring independents into the government and hold new elections in late 2015 if lawmakers back him to elect a new president.

 In similar fashion, US sharemarkets enjoyed solid gains in the first session of the week as technology shares balanced the weakness in the energy sector in response to lower oil and natural gas prices. At the close of trade the Dow Jones index was up by almost 155 points or 0.9% to record highs with the S&P 500 index up by 0.4% to record highs while the Nasdaq was higher by 16 points or 0.3%.

 The drop in energy prices overnight underpinned the weakness in the ASX 200 in the morning session with the Energy sector outstripping the losses for other losing groups. World oil prices fell after the Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi said that it was "not in the interest of OPEC producers to cut their production, whatever the price is." Brent crude fell by US$1.27 or 2.1% to US$60.11 a barrel. US Nymex crude fell by US$1.87 or 3.3% to US$55.26 a barrel. Additionally in US trade, natural-gas prices dropped by 9% on Monday, the largest decline since February, responding to warmer temperatures and a government report which revealed that gas stockpiles rose above year-ago levels for the first time in 2014. Shares in Woodside Petroleum (WPL) were at $37.92 for a loss of 78 cents or 2%, Santos (STO) shares were at $8.34 a loss of 15 cents or 1.8%

 In company news Telstra (TLS) announced the purchase Pacnet, the largest private owner of submarine cables in Asia. The telco said that it will pay $697 million for the group which also provides data-centre services to carriers, government and multinationals in the Asia-Pacific region. Telstra CEO David Thodey said that "Asia is an important part of our growth strategy. We believe this acquisition will help us become a leading provider of enterprise services to multinational companies and carriers in the region." Pacnet reported revenue in the year to December of $472 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $111 million according to Telstra. TLS shares were at $5.96, down 4 cents or 0.6%

 Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) were higher following a favourable court ruling. The group which markets wine labels, including Penfolds, Wynns, Beringer, Wolf Blass and Etude rose after the Court of Appeal of the Victorian Supreme Court found that the case brought by Melbourne City Investments (MCI) was an abuse of process and that it be permanently stayed. MCI took the action against TWE, alleging that it had breached its disclosure obligations regarding US inventory provisions following a TWE decision in July 2013 to destroy more than $35m of aged and excess stock in the US and offer major discounts after revealing that it overestimated the amount of wine needed to supply its US market. Additionally TWE said that these measures would cost the group $160m in 2012/13 and reduce the value of US shipments by $30 millionin 2014. MCI continues to pursue the matter having filed a new action against TWE whose share were a higher at $4.83 a gain of 11 cents or 2.3%

 Major currencies have generally fallen against the greenback in the last 24 hours. The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US81.70c to lows around US81.16c and was trading around US81.25 in early part of the Asian session.

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