By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian shares started the week on the upside Monday, with energy and media shares among the outperformers. In the early minutes of trading, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.3% at 4,697.0. Oil major Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (AU:WPL 44.60, +0.99, +2.27%) (WOPEF 37.45, +1.45, +4.03%) was 1.8% higher ahead of its earnings report later in the week, while Origin Energy Ltd. (AU:ORG 16.94, +0.56, +3.42%) (OGFGF 14.40, -0.75, -4.95%) rose 2.6%, as crude futures tacked on gains. Fairfax Media Ltd. (AU:FXJ 1.81, +0.02, +1.12%) (FFXLF 1.60, -0.02, -1.10%) rose 2.5% after posting an expectation-beating first-half profit, while News Corp. (NWS 16.02, +0.13, +0.82%) (NWSA 13.56, +0.07, +0.52%) , the owner of MarketWatch, gained 1.4%. Other blue-chip advancers included Rio Tinto Ltd. (AU:RIO 72.51, +1.51, +2.13%) (RTP 213.30, -2.49, -1.15%) , up 2.1%, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (AU:ANZ 22.54, +0.58, +2.64%) (ANEWF 19.78, +1.78, +9.89%) , higher by 2.3%. |
