Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Friday:
AIO – ASCIANO LTD – up eight cents, or 5.6 per cent, at $1.515
Ports and rail operator Asciano says positive cash flow and a strong balance sheet mean it can now take advantage of emerging business opportunities after surviving four years of losses.
AQA – AQUILA RESOURCES LTD – up 37 cents, or 6.67 per cent, at $5.92
Aquila Resources Ltd has reported a full year loss of $64.6 million as a result of lower coal volumes due to flooding and exploration expenses.
APN – APN NEWS & MEDIA LTD – up three cents, or 3.5 per cent, at 88 cents
FXJ – FAIRFAX MEDIA LTD – down half a cent at 76.5 cents
MRN – MACQUARIE RADIO LTD – untraded at 89 cents
NWS – NEWS CORPORATION – up 36 cents, or 2.3 per cent, at $15.91
SWM – SEVEN WEST MEDIA LTD – down five cents, or 1.9 per cent at $2.62
SXL – SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LTD – down half a cent at $1.05
TEN – TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LTD – up three cents, or 3.5 per cent, at 89 cents
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says keeping politicians out of an inquiry into the media is the right thing to do.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has accused NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of conspiring with News Ltd to undermine the carbon tax.
BHP – BHP BILLITON LTD – up 73 cents, or two per cent, at $37.63
Unions will take industrial action at another two central Queensland mines to further pressure BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) to resolve a wage dispute.
CLO – CLOUGH LTD – up half a cent at 74 cents
DOW – DOWNER EDI LTD – down two cents at $3.17
Downer EDI Ltd and Clough Ltd have won a $600 million contract to build a pipeline and compression facilities for the Santas GLNG project.
ENK – EUROPEAN NICKEL PLC – up five cents, or 25 per cent, at 25 cents
Shares in European Nickel jumped after the nickel explorer agreed to sell its mothballed Caldag project in Turkey for $US40 million ($A39.04 million) in cash.
GNS – GUNNS LTD – trading suspended, last traded at 20.5 cents
Forestry workers should be given their exit assistance before timber company Gunns receives its $34 million settlement under the Tasmanian forests agreement, Premier Lara Giddings says.
MYR – MYER HOLDINGS LTD – up four cents, or 1.9 per cent, at $2.10
Myer expects its annual profit to fall by up to 10 per cent in the current fiscal year as the department store operator endures the worst retailing environment in 30 years.
QAN – QANTAS AIRWAYS LTD – up 5.5 cents, or 3.7 per cent, at $1.545
More than 3000 Qantas baggage handlers and caterers are preparing to take nationwide strike action that could disrupt flights for up to 48 hours.
RIO – RIO TINTO LTD – up $1.03, or 1.5 per cent, at $69.38
Mining giant Rio Tinto will invest $US833 million ($A813.00 million) in infrastructure to help it increase iron ore production in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
SGT – SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LTD – up three cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $2.41
Optus will start rolling out fourth generation (4G) mobile services next year at the same time as it runs Australia’s first trial offering 4G services on spectrum previously used for analog TV.
