US stocks overnight rose overnight as investors were looking for positive corporate results to fuel the rally after a disappointing start of the earnings season. A brokerage upgrade of drugmaker Merck & Co and an upbeat outlook from Kraft Foods Inc has helped to lift the healthcare and consumer sectors. Financial shares also climbed during a hearing over the financial crisis on Capitol Hill.
The Australian share market lost much of its early gains after NAB's surprise bid for the local and New Zealand assets of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings. Woodside's capital raising also gave the market a pullback. At the close, the local market was slightly higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 8.4 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 4670.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 13.5 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 4689.6 points.
Beach Energy Limited (ASX:BPT)(PINK:BEPTF) drilling report for the week ending 16 December, 2009 are attached. Highlights of the week's activities include: Paralana-2 (GEL 178) has been successfully cased and cemented to a depth of 3725 metres and the rig was released on 12 December.
Exoil Limited (NSX:EXX) advises that the Cornea Joint Venture operated by Exoil's wholly owned subsidiary, Hawkestone Oil Pty Ltd, took possession of the Songa Venus semi-submersible drilling rig on 8 December 2009. Following a tow to the drilling location, the Cornea-3 well was spudded earlier today.
ABN Newswire Stocks to Watch today include: Image Resources (ASX:IMA)(PINK:IMREF), Mission NewEnergy Limited (ASX:MBT), Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO), Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX:GXY)(PINK:GALXF), Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX:ESI), Kairiki Energy Limited (ASX:KIK)(PINK:KAIRF), and WestSide Corporation Limited (ASX:WCL).
Mission NewEnergy Limited (ASX:MBT) a biodiesel refiner and one of the world's largest Jatropha plantation companies by acreage announced that it has entered into a binding five-year biodiesel Supply Agreement with Valero Marketing and Supply Company, a subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) ("Valero"), a fortune 500 hundred company and the largest independent crude-oil refiner and marketer in North America.
Asian investors continued cautious trading on Thursday amid ongoing debt jitters. Most Asian shares reversed to positive territory after some small drops at opening. Yesterday bourses across the region were hit by a series of credit rating downgrade. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.3 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 1.4 per cent, and China's Shanghai Composite was down 1.7 per cent.
