Australian Stock Markets
The Australian share market at noon is still trading above 6,000 points, after US markets and global oil prices lifted.
The benchmark index is above 6,000 points for the first time since February 5 as Wall Street's rally on easing concerns about US interest rate hikes buoyed local investors.
Investors also responded positively to a generally good company earnings season.
Global oil prices jumped to a two-week-plus after an oilfield in Libya shut down and after Saudi Arabia - the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' largest oil producer - said OPEC's efforts to cut stockpiles were working.
On
the local bourse, in the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum lifted 1.4
per cent to $28.97 and Oil Search added 0.3 per cent to $7.58, but
Santos was down 1.0 per cent at $5.07.
The big four banks were all higher, with ANZ and Westpac the best performers, both 0.9 per cent stronger, while National Australia Bank rose 0.8 per cent and Commonwealth Bank added 0.6 per cent.
Among the major miners, both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were off 0.4 per cent while Fortescue Metals was 0.3 per cent higher.
Gold miner Newcrest was down 0.8 per cent to $21.94 after it agreed to buy a 27.1 per cent stake in Toronto-listed Lundin Gold for $US250 million ($A318.8 million).
Among companies reporting earnings on Monday: BlueScope Steel gained 4.0 per cent to $16.115 after it improved its first-half net profit by 23 per cent to $441.2 million, helped by the restatement of deferred tax liabilities after January's cut in US corporate tax rates.
QBE lost 3.0 per cent to $10.405 after the Insurance giant reported a previously flagged full-year loss of $US1.25 billion ($A1.6 billion), due to one-off costs and blowouts associated with wildfires in California and Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean.
Amaysim dropped 5.2 per cent to $1.445 after the telecommunications and retail energy provider reported a first-half net loss of $2.37 million, down from an $8.3 million profit a year earlier.
Theme parks and entertainment centres operator Ardent Leisure lifted 3.7 per cent to $1.955 after it said it expects to trade profitably in the financial year's second half as attendances improve at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has risen against the US dollar as risk appetite for the Aussie returned.
QBE reports record $1.3 bln loss and said it would exit Latin
America to focus on its struggling units in Asia Pacific and North
America, as it confirmed a record annual loss hurt by claims from
natural disasters.
The benchmark index is above 6,000 points for the first time since February 5 as Wall Street's rally on easing concerns about US interest rate hikes buoyed local investors.
Investors also responded positively to a generally good company earnings season.
Global oil prices jumped to a two-week-plus after an oilfield in Libya shut down and after Saudi Arabia - the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' largest oil producer - said OPEC's efforts to cut stockpiles were working.
The big four banks were all higher, with ANZ and Westpac the best performers, both 0.9 per cent stronger, while National Australia Bank rose 0.8 per cent and Commonwealth Bank added 0.6 per cent.
Among the major miners, both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were off 0.4 per cent while Fortescue Metals was 0.3 per cent higher.
Gold miner Newcrest was down 0.8 per cent to $21.94 after it agreed to buy a 27.1 per cent stake in Toronto-listed Lundin Gold for $US250 million ($A318.8 million).
Among companies reporting earnings on Monday: BlueScope Steel gained 4.0 per cent to $16.115 after it improved its first-half net profit by 23 per cent to $441.2 million, helped by the restatement of deferred tax liabilities after January's cut in US corporate tax rates.
QBE lost 3.0 per cent to $10.405 after the Insurance giant reported a previously flagged full-year loss of $US1.25 billion ($A1.6 billion), due to one-off costs and blowouts associated with wildfires in California and Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean.
Amaysim dropped 5.2 per cent to $1.445 after the telecommunications and retail energy provider reported a first-half net loss of $2.37 million, down from an $8.3 million profit a year earlier.
Theme parks and entertainment centres operator Ardent Leisure lifted 3.7 per cent to $1.955 after it said it expects to trade profitably in the financial year's second half as attendances improve at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has risen against the US dollar as risk appetite for the Aussie returned.
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