Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Wednesday, October 31
BHP – BHP BILLITON LTD – up 14 cents at $33.97
BHP Billiton expects its Queensland coking coal production capacity to grow by 50 per cent by the end of 2014.
CBA – COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – up 52 cents at $57.31
Commonwealth Bank (CBA) shareholders have quizzed the bank about high-frequency trading and dilution of their investments by issues of equity to bank staff and executives.
CWN – CROWN LTD – down five cents at $9.38
Casino operator Crown wants to make Perth a major gateway for mass-market Chinese gamblers following the success of casino hotspot Singapore.
FLT – FLIGHT CENTRE LTD – down eight cents at $26.64
Travel agent Flight Centre says that despite the soft global economy, it plans to expand its number of outlets worldwide and hire more staff.
LLC – LEND LEASE GROUP – up seven cents at $8.61
A crane on a Manhattan skyscraper building site run by an Australian company has been buckled by savage winds and is dangling precariously 74 storeys above the city. The crane, on top of the $A1.45 billion building nicknamed the “global millionaires club”, is managed by Australian construction giant Lend Lease.
NHF – NIB HOLDINGS LTD – up two cents at $1.81
Nib is on track to lift its underwriting profits this financial year and remains confident changes to the private health insurance rebate will not have a major impact on the industry.
VAH – VIRGIN AUSTRALIA – up 2.5 cents at 48.5 cents
SXR – SKYWEST – up 16 cents at 44 cents
Air ticket prices are expected to drop and aviation jobs rise after Virgin Australia buys a chunk of Tiger Airways and takes over regional airline Skywest.
