Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Thursday:
CBA – COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – up 95 cents at $48.23
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) says the outlook for year ahead is modest due to weak demand for loans and global market volatility.
BPT – BEACH ENERGY LTD – up 5.5 cents at 97.5 cents
Shares in Beach Energy rose after the oil and gas producer reported a strong resource estimate for its Holdfast-1 and Encounter-1 shale gas wells in the Cooper Basin, South Australia.
CPU – COMPUTERSHARE LTD – down 14 cents at $6.95
Computershare’s full year profit declined by 10.4 per cent as the share registry services provider said it was cautious because of the current market volatility.
DMP – DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LTD – up 41 cents at $6.11
Shares in Domino’s rose more than seven per cent after the fast food chain said it expected a 15 per cent profit increase this year.
HVN – HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LTD – up 16 cents at $1.96
Retail king Gerry Harvey has warned that many retailers may close their doors as the toughest conditions in half a century grow even worse.
MCC – MACARTHUR COAL LTD – up 39 cents at $15.11
The European Commission does not need to review the planned takeover of Macarthur Coal by US giant Peabody Energy and the world’s biggest steel maker, ArcelorMittal, the joint bidders say.
MYR – MYER HOLDINGS LTD – up six cents at $2.25
Myer has extended chief executive Bernie Brookes’s contract to August 2014.
NWS – NEWS CORPORATION LTD – up 45 cents at $14.21
NWSLV – NEWS CORPORATION LTD NON-VOTING – up 48 cents at $13.86
News Corporation says the phone hacking scandal in the UK has had “no material impact” on the global media giant’s other operations after reporting full year earnings in line with market consensus.
SGP – STOCKLAND – down 10 cents at $2.68
Developer Stockland is banking on a resumption in consumer spending to drive earnings growth and says Australia’s cooling house prices won’t result in a market correction.
TLS – TELSTRA CORPORATION LTD – up four cents at $2.83
Telstra is tipped to report a double-digit decline in net profit on Thursday, as its year-long bid to capture more customers eats into the bottom line.
WDC – WESTFIELD GROUP – down six cents at $7.73
Shopping centre owner Westfield Group is making its first new market entry in 11 years, acquiring 50 per cent of Almeida Junior, a Brazilian operation which does much the same as Westfield elsewhere.
WEB – WEBJET LTD – up 18 cents at $1.78
Travellers booking flights online could save hundreds by trawling lesser-known websites, the consumer magazine Choice says.
WOR – WORLEY PARSONS LTD – up $1.16 at $25.09
Shares in WorleyParsons surged after the company announced it had won two new overseas contracts.
