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Stocks to watch on Tuesday

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Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Tuesday:

BHP – BHP BILLITON LTD – up 80 cents, or 2.35 per cent, at $34.85

BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers says the European debt crisis could dry up trade finance, the lifeblood of world commerce.

COU – COUNT FINANCIAL LTD – steady at $1.40

CBA – COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – up $1.50 at $46.89

Court approval has been granted for Count Financial’s $373 million takeover by Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

CNA – COAL & ALLIED INDUSTRIES LTD – up 16 cents at $124.49

Shareholders have approved a plan by Rio Tinto and Japan’s Mitsubishi to buy the remaining shares in coal miner Coal and Allied Industries.

DXS – DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – up 2.5 cents, or 3.1 per cent, at 84 cents

Property Council of Australia president Darren Steinberg will take the top job at Dexus Property Group when chief executive Victor Hoog Antink retires in March.

GBG – GINDALBIE METALS LTD – up 2.5 cents, or 5.2 per cent, at 51 cents

ROY – ROYAL RESOURCES LTD – up half a cent, or 3.7 per cent, at 14 cents

Shares in Gindalbie Metals and Royal Resources rose after the iron ore firms settled a project acquisition deal that had been held up by a legal claim.

IAG – INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LTD – up 11 cents, or 3.9 per cent, at $2.90

QBE – QBE INSURANCE GROUP LTD – up 11 cents at $13.20

SUN – SUNCORP GROUP LTD – up 23 cents, or 2.95 per cent, at $8.02

Insurers estimate the damage from the fires in Western Australia’s Margaret River region will be in the tens of millions of dollars.

QAN – QANTAS AIRWAYS LTD – up five cents, or 3.4 per cent, at $1.505

Higher fuel costs, expenses from an industrial dispute and chief executive Alan Joyce’s decision to ground the carrier’s entire fleet have prompted Qantas Airways to forecast a sharp drop in first half profit.

RIO – RIO TINTO LTD – up $1.32, or 2.1 per cent, at $63.27

Rio Tinto has maintained its faith in Chinese growth by raising its Pilbara iron ore production target, even though it admits customers are becoming increasingly cautious about the world economy.