Stocks of interest on the Australian Securities Exchange on Wednesday:

BHP – BHP BILLITON – up 29 cents, or 1.02 per cent, at $28.61

RIO – RIO TINTO – up 54 cents, or 0.97 per cent, at $56.34

FMG – FORTESCUE METALS – down two cents, or 0.9 per cent, at $2.18

Iron ore prices are tipped to fall to around $US50 a tonne in the second half of the year because of weak steel demand and increased supply from Australia’s big miners.

FLT – FLIGHT CENTRE – down $5.90, or 13.6 per cent, at $37.51

A drop in spending on holiday travel has forced Flight Centre to cut its profit forecasts.

PRG – PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SERVICES – in a trading halt at $2.80

SKE – SKILLED GROUP – in a trading halt at $1.545

Shares in Programmed Maintenance Services and Skilled Group remain on hold ahead of an expected takeover by Programmed.

QFX – QUICKFLIX – up 0.05 cents, or 33.3 per cent, at 0.2 cents

The streaming service is expanding the rollout of pre-paid giftcards through major Australian retail outlets as it prepares to launch new interfaces for TVs, games consoles, mobile and tablet devices.

SHM – SHRIRO HOLDINGS – up eight cents, or eight per cent, at $1.08

The local distributor of Casio watches and Omega kitchen appliances has enjoyed a strong debut on the share market.