Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Wednesday, July 4
BHP – BHP BILLITON LTD – up eight cents at $31.80
BHP Mitsubishi Alliance and unions are back at the negotiating table in an effort to end an 18-month dispute over a new industrial agreement for the company’s Bowen Basin mines.
BFG – BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LTD – down three cents at 41 cents
Bell Financial Group has warned it faces a loss of up to $2 million for the first half of its financial year.
CWK – COALWORKS LTD – steady at $1.00
WHC – WHITEHAVEN COAL LTD – up one cent at $4.20
Dr Andrew Firek has stepped down as Coalworks chief executive as predator Whitehaven Coal moves closer to taking control of the NSW miner.
DJS – DAVID JONES LTD – steady at $2.33
A UK private equity firm’s $1.65 billion mystery takeover offer for troubled retailer David Jones has sparked an investigation by the corporate watchdog.
EGP – ECHO ENTERTAINMENT GROUP – up four cents at $4.30
PPT – PERPETUAL LTD – up 73 cents at $23.38
A move by regulators to allow Perpetual to lift its potential stake in Echo Entertainment Group has raised the possibility that other shareholders may gain approval to lift their stakes.
EKA – EUREKA ENERGY LTD – steady at 45 cents
AUT – AURORA OIL & GAS LTD – up two cents at $3.20
Aurora Oil & Gas has moved closer to taking full control of takeover target Eureka Energy.
CDD – CARDNO LTD – up seven cents at $7.65
Cardno says the acquisitions of two US-based companies with an emphasis on the defence sector and greenhouse gas abatement will contribute an extra $US48 million ($A46.96 million) of earnings for the group.
FMS – FLINDERS MINES LTD – down one cent at 12.5 cents
Flinders mines remains hopeful of finding a new suitor despite a takeover deal with a Russian steel maker falling through.
HVN – HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LTD – up one cent at $1.945
Environmental campaigners have stepped up pressure on retailer Harvey Norman to encourage an industry-wide move away from furniture sourced from native Australian forests that koalas call home.
QRN – QR NATIONAL LTD – down six cents at $3.34
Adani and QR National will work together on a proposal for an east-west rail line out of the coal-rich Galilee Basin in central Queensland.
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WTP – WATPAC LTD – up five cents at 67.5 cents
Watpac Civil and Mining has secured a $35 million variation to its mining services contract on the Nullagine Iron Ore Project in Western Australia.
WPL – WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD – down 56 cents at $31.25
BHP – BHP BILLITON LTD – up eight cents at $31.80
Woodside Petroleum has received the regulatory all-clear to sell a third of its stake in the $30 billion Browse gas project to Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui & Co.
