Bargain hunters drive shares higher

AUSTRALIAN shares were higher at noon, extending earlier gains with a small number of bargain hunters making up yesterday's losses. At 1200 AEST the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 26.1 points higher at 4,273.4, while the broader All Ordinaries index was 25.5 points up at 4,342.8. On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 18 points at 4,246, with 24,609 contracts traded. Intersuisse director of equities, Andrew Sekely, said the share market was making up lost ground from the close yesterday, but that trading was still light. "It's a thin market, you don't need a huge amount of buying to push it up,'' he said. "There's probably a bit of bargain hunting going on out there.'' Mr Sekely expected the share market to remain fairly steady. "I suspect it'll trade within a narrow band and it looks as though it will hold in positive territory for the rest of the day.'' Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Making news today, at 1200 AEST, Westfield Group shares lost 18 cents to $7.96 after posting a 32 per cent fall in half year profit and confirming earlier guidance for earnings, distributions and revenue for the full year. Woodside Petroleum Ltd's shares shed 25 cents to $37.07 after announcing on Wednesday its first half net profit was down 8.1 per cent to $US828 million ($A792.65 million) for the six months to June 30 2011, from $US901 million ($A862.53 million) for the same period a year earlier. At noon the major banks were higher at noon, making up losses in early trade, with Westpac up 23 cents to $20.48. The nation's second-largest bank on Tuesday posted a two per cent fall in third-quarter cash earnings due to slowing credit growth. National Australia Bank was also 16 cents up at $23.37. ANZ gained 11 cents to $20.46 and Commonwealth Bank was five cents higher at $46.88. The price of gold in Sydney was $US1,784.10 per fine ounce, up $US14.77 from Tuesday's local close at $US1,769.33. At 1205 AEST shares in gold miner Newcrest Mining were down 20 cents at $38.50. Among the miners, BHP Billiton gained 16 cents at $39.59 and Rio Tinto was 71 cents higher at $74.10. At 1200 AEST national turnover was 785.49 million shares worth $1.76 billion, with 467 stocks up, 334 down, and 325 steady.