Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange at noon on Monday:

AIO – ASCIANO – up 1.5 cents, or 0.27 per cent, at $5.635

WHC – WHITEHAVEN COAL – down 4.00 cents, or 2.16 per cent, at $1.815

Freight rail operator Asciano has entered into a 12-year haulage agreement with Whitehaven Coal that will reduce costs.

TCL – TRANSURBAN GROUP – up 5.5 cents, or 0.81 per cent, at $6.845

Strong traffic growth on Transurban’s Sydney roads has helped boost the tollway operator’s half year revenue.

TLS – TELSTRA – down 0.5 cents, or 0.09 per cent, at $5.255

Telstra will sell a 70 per cent stake in its directories business Sensis to a US based private equity firm for just over $450 million.

WCB – WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE AND BUTTER FACTORY COMPANY – steady, at $9.21

BGA – BEGA CHEESE – up 1.00 cent, or 0.22 per cent, at $4.59

Canadian dairy giant Saputo now holds more than 26 per cent of takeover target Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, up from just over 21 per cent.