Stocks close: BHP Billiton leads rise
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The Australian sharemarket finished sharply higher today as resource giant BHP Billiton helped lead the market to a recovery from yesterday&#39;s falls.
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Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton, the world&#39;s biggest mining company, more than doubled second-half profit as Chinese demand boosted commodity prices and said it may return as much as $2 billion to investors, including through share buybacks.
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Leading shares closed firmer, nearing session peaks, with stronger mining issues and a recovery in dollar-exposed stocks helping to offset disappointing results from HSBC and Tesco's, and with Wall Street higher as inflation worries recede, dealers said.
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Leading shares have closed comfortably higher, fuelled by energy stocks as crude prices tested 60 usd a barrel, but with index gains capped by mixed trading on Wall Street as the oil price dampened a flurry of M&amp;A activity.
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Stocks rose Wednesday afternoon, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average within a whisper of its record closing high, before the world's most widely watched stock market gauge pulled back.
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Stocks rose on Monday with the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials eking out closing records as higher energy shares and a fresh round of takeovers offset concerns about a sharp sell-off in Chinese stocks.
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UK blue-chips closed higher Thursday, in a very thin day of trading, with speciality chemicals company Johnson Matthey the top FTSE riser on rumours it could be a bid target for Dow Chemicals.
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Expectations of strong dividends from the big banks lifted the market to a record close yesterday. All four big banks moved higher, with ANZ closing at its highest price.
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The Australian share market continues to go from strength to strength with another record breaking day. The All Ordinaries hit its peak late, up almost seven points to close at 3,734.
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UK blue-chips closed higher, but off peaks with resource stocks dominating the leader board amid some selective positioning by investors ahead of tomorrow&#39;s US non-farm payrolls data.
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U.S. stocks edged higher on Tuesday as  rising oil and other commodity prices drove up shares of major  energy and metal producers.
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Leading shares closed higher, tracking Wall Street's ascent as concerns over oil supplies waned on reports that the stand-off in Najaf, Iraq may nearing a resolution, dealers said.
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Leading shares closed higher, with further gains across the miners and fresh M&amp;A talk among financials giving the FTSE 100 a leg-up towards the 6,000 level in thin Labor Day volumes, dealers said.
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Mining stocks led the FTSE higher on Thursday with Antofagasta, the copper producer focused on Chile, up 3.1 per cent to 476p on talk that a special dividend of up to 40 US cents a share could be paid when full-year results are announced on Tuesday.
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SYDNEY/NEW YORK  - Shares of copper producer Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.  jumped 5 percent in U.S. trading on rumors of a takeover bid by BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc , but analysts gave an offer low odds.
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The FTSE 100 index has reclaimed some of its recent losses, led higher by BHP Billiton and Allied Domecq after upbeat news from both.
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London shares closed higher as Wall Street remained firm after a slew of companies reported upbeat earnings, with UK miners helping to fuel the blue chips.