Mining stocks gains as possibility of a tax deal emerges
With reports that the government and three major mining companies are in the brink of reaching a compromise deal on the major provisions of the resource super profits tax, mining stocks started their recoveries following an early slump on market's opening.
BHP Billiton shares went up by 37.19 by 1430 AEST while Rio Tinto gained further and reached $65.60 from $64.20 at around the same time with Fortescue stocks rising to $4.02 from $3.90.
A breaking news by Fairfax indicated that the major compromise point would be the increase in the uplift rate from the government's 10-year bond rate, which should reach 12 percent from the originally provisioned of seven percent.
Speculations are also ripe that the controversial tax's headline rate of 40 percent would be tweaked a bit and the new government is said to be more welcoming for adopting a more generous transitional set up for mining companies' existing exploration projects.
The new deal is expected to leave out concessions on some lower value mineral sectors though the inclusion of the volatile nickel sector has been considered in the talks, according to the report by Fairfax.
Analysts are discounting the possibility that a formal announcement would be made today since Prime Minister Julia Gillard is currently attending the funeral of a soldier killed in Afghanistan, which is being held north of Queensland.