Australian Stocks Gain on Recovery Hopes, Takeover Speculation

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Australian stocks rose for a second day amid signs that economies around the world are improving and on speculation that mergers and acquisitions will accelerate. Macarthur Coal Ltd., the world’s biggest exporter of pulverized coal used by steelmakers, climbed 3.7 percent after Macquarie Group Ltd. said Hong Kong’s Noble Group Ltd. may be planning a bid. Gloucester Coal Ltd. jumped 26 percent after receiving a takeover offer from Macarthur. Telstra Corp. gained 0.9 percent after the Australian newspaper said the phone company appointed banks to sell shares in a Chinese subsidiary.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent to 4,716.60 as of 10:58 a.m. in Sydney, after falling as much as 0.3 percent. About as many stocks advanced as declined.

U.S. existing home purchases increased and the U.K. economy shrank less than initially reported. The gauge has rallied 50 percent from a five-year low on March 6 as government stimulus measures including cash handouts and infrastructure spending helped Australia skirt a recession.

“We’re seeing a fairly broad-based improvement in most economic measures,” said Cameron Peacock, a market analyst at IG Markets in Melbourne. “Heading into next year, most people are fairly optimistic we’ll see a continued recovery across the global economy.”