Sydney, Sept 26, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - Aussie shares have advanced slightly in morning trade shaking off a drag from top miner BHP after the upgrade to its Olympic Dam mine came in slightly lower than the market had expected.

The S&P/ASX200 is up seven points to 6490 and on the Futures Market the SPI200 is down 14.

In economic news, the government index of skilled job vacancies rose 0.1 per cent in trend terms in September from the previous month, but came in 6.5 per cent lower than a year ago.

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In company news this hour, fertiliser company Nufarm Ltd has reported a net profit of $148.8 million after significant items and provided upbeat outlook for the coming year. Operating profit for the year was slightly below last year and seven percent lower than company guidance. However the company said the result was satisfactory given the impact of the severe drought conditions in Australia. Total dividends for the year were 32 cents compared to 30 cents last year. Nufarm will deliver new products in its global agricultural markets this financial year and expects a strong performance in the US as well as better margins in Europe. The forecast profit of $145 million assumes seasonal conditions in Australia will remain difficult. Nufarm shares have slipped 5.48% lower to $14.50.

Brambles shares have lifted following a report by the Financial Review that infrastructure firm Asciano and Macquarie Bank have approached financial institutions about funding a potential $20 billion-plus bid for the pallet company. Seven weeks ago Brambles revealed that both Toll Holdings and spin-off Asciano had been buying its shares. Brambles has indicated it has its own strategy for growth and is not considering any merger options at this time, however Toll managing director Paul Little has touted the undeniable benefits of combining freight and warehouse operations with Brambles CHEP pallet-pooling business and says interest from other parties is only a matter of time. Brambles shares have risen 2.15% to $14.24 on the rumours.

Now to warrants from Macquarie Bank. Mining behemoth BHP Billiton opened on its lows today after the company upgraded the size of its resource at its Olympic Dam resources, but failed to meet the market's lofty expectations on the numbers. Traders that bought downside exposure earlier in the week used the dip in the stock to close out positions through BHPVMX Oct07 $42.00 Put.

Mid-cap nickel miner Allegiance Mining has also slipped to track weaker nickel prices on the London Metals Exchange overnight. Traders believing the stock will rebound higher bought leveraged exposure in the newly-listed AGMWMA May08 $0.80 Call.

Turning now to market indices. The best performing index this morning is the health Index, adding 85 points to 9,340. Stand out stocks include Cochlear, 2.51% stronger at $74.76 with Ansell and Symbion also higher.

The Materials Index has taken a dive, shedding 145 points to 15,210. Minara Resources suffering the most, 2.38% weaker at $6.97. BHP and Oxiana have also retreated.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei is 48 points ahead and in New Zealand the NZSX50 is up 23.

Gold is currently trading at $732.80 U.S an ounce and one Australian dollar's buying 87.26 U.S cents.


Source: Finance News Network © 2007 http://www.finnewsnetwork.com.au

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