Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares inch up to 20-mth high; NAB gains

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Australia shares inch up to 20-mth high; NAB gains Jan 21st 2013, 06:19 Tweet Share this Email Print Related Topics Basic Materials » Energy » Industrials » Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:19am EST (Adds details, comments) SYDNEY, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares inched higher to hit a 20-month closing high in quiet trade on Monday, helped by gains in National Australia Bank Ltd on a report that a Spanish bank is interested in its British business. The S&P/ASX 200 index finished the day 6.3 points higher at 4,777.5, building on a 1.3 percent climb last week, the biggest weekly gain in seven weeks. Trade was subdued with Wall Street closed later in the day for a holiday. The market is also pricing in the likelihood of aggressive action from the Bank of Japan to combat deflation. "Traders are just positioning themselves for the result of tomorrow's Bank of Japan meeting," said Ric Spooner, market strategist at CMC Markets. "There's a risk that we could see the framework put in place for another monetary stimulus by the big central bank." Sources familiar with the Bank of Japan's thinking have said it will consider making an open-ended commitment to buy government bonds and other assets until 2 percent inflation is in sight and the economy is on a more solid footing. Gold stocks climbed amid the focus on inflation prospects with Newcrest Mining Ltd up 1.1 percent and Regis Resources Ltd gaining 1.8 percent. NAB'S BRITISH ASSETS EYED National Australia Bank climbed 1.9 percent to A$26.85, a three-month high, after the Sunday Times reported that Spain's Banco Santander is considering a $3.2 billion bid for its UK assets. NAB scrapped plans to sell 337 Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank branches last April, having struggled to attract a buyer, and instead announced plans to shrink the business, cutting 1,400 jobs. QBE Insurance Group Ltd jumped 3.3 percent after announcing it is may cut 700 jobs as part of cost reduction measures. Engineering firm Worley Parsons climbed 1 percent after it was awarded a three year contract by Shell Gas Iraq to provide project management support and services. Oz Minerals Ltd gained 2.7 percent after it increased its mineral-resource estimate by 43 percent at its Carrapateena deposit in South Australia. The copper and gold mining company also made a new discovery at Khamsin, 10 kilometres from the Carrapateena site. Iron ore miners were slightly firmer. Rio Tinto Ltd was up 0.2 percent while rival BHP Billiton Ltd inched up 0.1 percent. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index added 0.5 percent, or 21 points to end the day at 4,185.2. (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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