By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian shares rose early Friday, as resource stocks cheered the announcement of a compromise tax deal between miners and the government. The S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 4,264.8, as mining major BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP 37.09, -0.02, -0.05%) (BHP 62.42, +0.43, +0.69%) added 1.1%, Rio Tinto Ltd. (AU:RIO 65.30, +0.20, +0.31%) (RTP 44.26, +0.66, +1.51%) rose 1.5%, and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG 4.08, +0.08, +2.00%) (FSUMF 3.44, -0.11, -3.10%) was up 3.3%. Among energy shares, Origin Energy Ltd. (AU:ORG 14.83, +0.21, +1.44%) (OGFGF 12.50, -0.05, -0.40%) rose 1.7%, and Santos Ltd. (AU:STO 12.22, -0.14, -1.13%) (STOSF 10.45, -0.40, -3.69%) gained 1%. An overnight pullback in gold futures, however, hit producers of the precious metal, with Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM 34.24, -1.13, -3.20%) (NCMGF 31.10, +0.20, +0.65%) down 2.6%. |
