Market Update & Important Indicators
U.S. stocks fell lower Wednesday after Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed officials haven't agreed on a plan for when and how quickly to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 40 points, or 0.2%, to 18008, the S&P 500 slipped four points, or 0.2%, to 2097, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost one point to 4899.
A takeover offer for one of Australia's oldest companies and some healthy earnings reports sparked a rally by the country's benchmark share index Wednesday. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 1% to 5915.7 points, erasing Tuesday's losses and tracking gains in Japan and the U.S., as a bid by Japan's state postal service for Toll Holdings catapulted the logistics group's stock price up 47% to A$8.95. Japan Post agreed to pay A$6.49 billion for Toll, offering a 49% premium to Tuesday's closing price of A$6.08.
European stocks climbed to a seven-year high on Wednesday, with investors wagering that Greece will eventually hammer out a new financing deal with its international creditors and avoid exiting the Eurozone. The Stoxx Europe 600 closed 0.9% higher, extending Tuesday's rise. The gains have come despite the collapse of talks between Greece and other Eurozone countries' finance ministers on Monday night.
Stocks in Asia rose Wednesday, as fears eased over Greece leaving the Eurozone while Hong Kong energy stocks rallied on hopes of a possible mega-merger in China's oil sector. The Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.2%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.0% and the Hang Seng ended up 0.2%, ahead of the Lunar New Year on Thursday.
Metals on the LME closed in the green with the exception of zinc which lost 0.8% to US$0.94/lb. Caopper was up 1.8% to US$2.61/lb, while nickel remained relatively flat, up just 0.1% to US$6.44/lb. Gold was up marginally, rising 0.2% to US$1213/oz.
In This Issue
Independence Group (IGO)
December half results: Independent Group (IGO) reported December H financial (largely pre-released) and announced a 6¢/sh interim dividend (vs 3¢/sh for the corresponding period in 2013). Guidance was also increased at all three assets following strong operational performance in H1 FY15.
Recent Contacts & Presentations
Energia Minerals (EMX), OBJ Limited (OBJ), Gage Roads (GRB), Rewardle (RXH), Doray (DRM), Alexium (AJX), Orbital (OEC), IMF Bentham (IMF), Metals X (MLX), Pura Vida (PVD), Image Resources (IMA), Tangiers (TPT), ABM Resources (ABU), Centaurus (CTM), Imdex (IMD)
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