Australian shares rise as Liontown, United Malt skyrocket on takeover bids

United Malt

28/03/2023 01:34

March 28 (Reuters) - Australian shares jumped more than
1% on Tuesday, as lithium and commodity stocks rallied sharply
after battery metals explorer Liontown Resources  LTR.AX 
rejected a $3.7 billion buyout bid from Albemarle Corp.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  rose 1.1% to 7,037.6 points by
0006 GMT, marking a near two-week high.
    Liontown soared 59% to a record high after it rebuffed an
indicative offer from top lithium producer Albemarle Corp
 ALB.N  that valued the lithium developer at A$5.50 billion
($3.66 billion).
    Other lithium players like Pilbara Minerals  PLS.AX , Allkem
 AKE.AX , and IGO Ltd  IGO.AX  rose between 5.9% and 12.2%. 
    Meanwhile, United Malt Group Ltd  UMG.AX  jumped nearly 35%
after it received a A$1.50 billion ($998 million) non-binding
offer from Malteries Soufflet, a branch of French agribusiness
InVivo.
    Energy stocks  .AXEJ  added 3.4% on stronger oil prices.
Sector majors Woodside  WDS.AX  and Santos  STO.AX  gained 3.8%
and 2.7%, respectively.
    Miners  .AXMM  rose on receiving a boost from higher
commodity prices. BHP Group  BHP.AX  and Rio Tinto  RIO.AX 
added between 0.9% and 1.6%. 
    Fortescue Metals  FMG.AX  said it would delay initial
production at its Iron Bridge Project in Pilbara to the second
half of April. Fortescue shares were up 2.1%. 
    Gold stocks  .AXGD  declined 1.4% after bullion prices slid.
Newcrest Mining  NCM.AX  fell 0.3%. 
    Banks  .AXFJ  gained 1.1% after global financial stocks had
a respite as a deal for Silicon Valley Bank's assets improved
sentiment. The "Big Four" banks rose up to 1.1%. 
    Shares of local contractor Downer EDI  DOW.AX  climbed 0.6%
after the company appointed a new finance chief amid board
reshuffle.
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  jumped 0.5%
to 11,673.2 points.

($1 = 1.5015 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)
 ((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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