Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange early on Thursday:
AMC – AMCOR LTD – up 10 cents at $6.90
Packaging maker Amcor will expand its flexible packaging business with the $238 million acquisition of Aperio Group.
AUN – AUSTRA UNITED COMMUNICATIONS LTD – up seven cents at $1.43
CMJ – CONSOLIDATED MEDIA HOLDINGS LTD – up two cents at $2.77
NWS – NEWS CORPORATION – down 28 cents at $18.41
NSWLV – NEWS CORPORATION LTD NON-VOTING SHARES – down 30 cents at $18.04
TLS – TELSTRA CORPORATION – down two cents at $3.23
A final decision on Foxtel’s proposed takeover of Austar appears to be some way off after the competition regulator opened a new round of market consultation on the $2.5 billion transaction.
ORI – ORICA LTD – down 28 cents at $25.43
No traces of cyanide have been found in water samples taken from Gladstone Harbour following a breach by a chemical company, the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) says.
QBE – QBE INSURANCE GROUP LTD – up nine cents at $11.91
Insurer QBE has agreed to buy South American and Hong Kong-based subsidiaries of HSBC for $US420 million ($A399.39 million).
RIO – RIO TINTO LTD – down $1.20 at $62.42
Mining giant Rio Tinto will close its Lynemouth aluminium smelter in Northumberland, England, at the end of March.
TLS – TELSTRA CORPORATION LTD – down two cents at $3.23
Telstra will participate in the rollout of the national broadband network (NBN) after finalising its $11 billion agreement with the federal government and NBN Co.
WOW – WOOLWORTHS LTD – up 11 cents at $25.15
The High Court has found retail giant Woolworths negligent in failing to remove a greasy potato chip from the floor of one of its shopping centres.
