Sydney, Oct 5, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - The share market rallied today. BHP led the recovery after being sold off for two straight sessions. A rebound in oil prices also lifted energy firms.

Today the S&P/ASX 200 Index closed up 39 points to 6605, and is up 38 points on the week. On the futures market the SPI 200 rose 7 points.

Looking to US indices now, the Dow Jones industrial Index climbed 79 points over the four day trading week. The S&P 500 lifted 16 points, the NASDAQ gained 32, and the 100 index managed 14 points.

The full report is available at the following video and audio links.

Video Link

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Turning to company news now, Coca-Cola has canned its bid for Golden Circle. It comes after the Golden Circle board rejected the $195 million in favour of a private equity offer. Coca-Cola said it was disappointed the directors of Golden Circle had recommended the private equity offer. Coca Cola's managing director Terry Davis added that further rationalisation of the industry is critical in making it more competitive against cheaper overseas imports and private labels. Shares in Coca-Cola Amatil ended the session 1.89% higher at $9.18, gaining 1.99% on the week.

And the Federal Court has dismissed BHP's Pilbara rail appeal. Last year BHP appealed a decision by the Federal Court that declared the company's railway lines in the Pilbara were not part of the production process. In a split decision, the Full Bench of the Federal Court dismissed BHP's appeal. The action was brought by the National Competition Council and emerging iron ore producer Fortescue Metals. Fortescue is seeking access to BHP's 426 km Mt Newman line to allow the development of the Mindy Mindy iron ore deposit. According to Fairfax Press, the world's largest miner is now likely to take the case to the High Court. Shares in BHP Billiton ended the session 0.8% higher at $44.10, but shed 1.01 per cent on the week.

Taking a look at some of the week's main stories now, Rio Tinto has been given approval from the European Union and Australia's ACCC to become the world's largest aluminium producer with its 43 billion dollar purchase of Canada's Alcan. The EU's decision came after Rio Tinto's Australian shareholders gave the takeover the green light last week. Meanwhile the ACCC says IT doesn't believe there will be a lessening of competition in the sector caused by the planned acquisition. The deal has also received regulatory approval in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company says a review of potential asset sales to help fund the purchase will be carried out over the next few months. Shares in Rio Tinto ended the session 1.29% higher at $107.65, but are down 0.53% on the week.

And Coates Hire accepted a $1.7 billion offer from rival National Hire Group and private equity firm Carlyle Group, sending shares in both listed companies soaring. National Hire and private equity firm Carlyle Group in what is their third bid for Coates, offered $6.59 a share, or $6.70 including Coates' final dividend. The company previously rejected a $1.6 billion, $6.29 a-share offer from National Hire and Carlyle on September 5 as too low. Coates, which hires out everything from portable toilets to generators to the building, mining and energy sectors, put itself up for sale in June after posting weaker-than-expected results in February. The deal still needs shareholder and regulatory approval. Shares in the Coates Hire ended the session 0.62% lower to close at $6.44, but are up 6.45% on the week.

And now to today's best and worst performers, the best performing index was the Energy index gaining 319 points to 15,677, while the worst performing index was the Property index shedding 10 points to 2427.

Timbercorp was the best performer in the S&P/ASX top 200 today adding 8.5% to $1.66; AWB and Arrow Energy also made solid gains.

At the other end of the index; Mt Gibson Iron was the worst performing stock losing 5.17% to $2.20; Energy Developments and Challenger Financial Services also finished lower.

The Aussie dollar is currently fetching 88.74 U.S cents and is steady on the week.

Gold is trading at $736.40 U.S an ounce and shed $7.30 on the week's trading.

And finally, oil moved 20 cents weaker to $81.24 U.S a barrel and is down 55 cents on the week.

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

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