Australian shares sharply higher in morning on upbeat earnings, Wall St rise

Australian shares sharply higher in morning on upbeat earnings, Wall St rise

	Published : Thu, 23 Aug 2007 03:19 By : Agencies Print this Story

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian shares were sharply higher in morning trade Thursday, led by gains in index leader BHP Billiton and financial stocks as positive earnings reports continue to flow in.

Wall Street's solid overnight gains also boosted sentiment.

At 11.40 am, the S&P/ASX 200 index was up 161.2 points or 2.7 percent at 6,166.2, while the All Ordinaries index added 158.2 points or 2.6 percent to 6155.6.

Bell Potter Securities private client advisor Stuart Smith said investors are shrugging off the subprime woes to focus on a number of solid earnings reports, along with BHP Billiton's bullish business outlook after its latest results.

On Wednesday BHP Billiton reported after the market close here that it posted record year to June net profit of 13.4 billion US dollars, driven by strong demand for commodities in China.

Smith said the result highlights the strength of Asian economies, particularly China, with the surge in demand expected to continue.

On a technical basis the S&P/ASX 200 index's rise above its 200-day moving average is another positive, he said.

In late morning trade BHP Billiton was up 2.00 Australian dollars or 5.7 percent at 37.41, while peer Rio Tinto was up 5.37 dollars or 6.3 percent at 90.80 dollars.

Major banks were also higher, with Commonwealth Bank up 98 cents or 1.8 percent at 55.38 dollars and National Australia Bank, up 54 cents or 1.4 percent at 48.10 dollars.

Leading investment bank, Macquarie Bank, continued to rebound from steep falls, gaining 4.70 dollars or 6.3 percent to 79.55.

Investment adviser Babcock & Brown Ltd surged after reporting its first half net profit jumped 53 percent to 250.1 million Australian dollars, resulting in an upgrade of its full year profit guidance to 590 million dollars. The stock advanced 2.62 dollars or 11.6 percent to 25.23.

Wealth management group and life insurer AMP Ltd rose 24 cents or 2.4 percent to 10.09 dollars after saying its underlying net profit for the first half rose 27 percent from a year earlier to 534 million Australian dollars.

Travel agency Flight Centre added 80 cents or 4.26 percent to 19.60 dollars as its year to June net profit jumped 51 percent to a record 120.8 million Australian dollars. The company is targeting 10-15 percent net profit growth for the current fiscal year.

(1 US dollar = 1.23 Australian dollars)

yuinmunn.szetoh@thomson.com

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