Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Thursday May 17
BHP – BHP BILLITON LTD – down $1.37 – or 4.04 per cent – at $32.49
BHP Billiton chairman Jacques Nasser says the global miner will not spend the $80 billion on growth projects that it said it would.
BTA – BIOTA AUSTRALIA LTD – down 0.5 cents at 81 cents
Flu drug developer Biota says its losses for the first nine months of the 2011/12 financial year are half that of the prior corresponding period.
CSR – CSR LTD – down 2.5 cents at $1.665
Building products maker CSR expects Australia’s housing construction market to remain bleak for the foreseeable future and says it is difficult to predict the timing of a recovery.
IDL – INDUSTREA LTD – up 17 cents at $1.23
US giant General Electric (GE) aims to increase its presence in the booming resources sector through a $700 million friendly takeover for Australian mining equipment-maker Industrea.
LLC – LEND LEASE GROUP LTD – down 17 cents at $7.33
Australia’s biggest property developer, Lend Lease, says there are signs of recovery in global construction markets but remains cautious about its medium-term prospects
MBN – MIRABELA NICKEL LTD – in trading halt, last traded at 34 cents
Moody’s Investors Service says Mirabela Nickel’s $120 million capital raising should alleviate the miner’s near-term liquidity pressures.
MND – MONADELPHOUS GROUP LTD – down 74 cents at $20.61
Engineering company Monadelphous Group has been awarded two new construction contracts in Western Australia worth about $150 million.
SHL – SONIC HEALTHCARE LTD – up 29 cents at $12.83
Sonic Healthcare will buy Healthscope’s pathology businesses in three Australian states and the nation’s capital for $100 million.
SPN – SP AUSNET – steady at $1.115
Victorian electricity and gas distributor SP AusNet’s full year profit has risen to $253 million due partly to higher electricity prices.
TOL – TOLL HOLDINGS LTD – down 85 cents at $4.73
Transport and logistics group Toll Holdings has warned of lower earnings in 2012, sending its shares plummeting.
VAH – VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LTD – down 0.5 cents at 42.5 cents
Virgin Australia says it has started trialling the use of biodiesel to power some ground vehicles at Brisbane Airport.
WDC – WESTFIELD GROUP – down 21 cents at $9.22
WRT – WESTFIELD RETAIL TRUST – up four cents at $2.68
Shopping centre giant Westfield is punting on interest rate cuts and $5 billion worth of federal government handouts to families to help entice people to spend again.
