Utilities stocks advanced nearly 3% at midday Wednesday.
Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) gained more than 3% in recent trade.
Meanwhile, the consumer discretionary sector struggled, shedding more than 1%.
Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) shares fell nearly 1% in recent trade.
Guolian Securities (SHA:601456, HKG:1456) is looking to buy back between 100 million yuan and 200 million yuan of shares, according to a Tuesday filing with the Shanghai bourse.The securities company could buy between 7.7 million and 15.4 million shares at 13 yuan apiece.The share repurchase will help protect the company's value and shareholder rights, Guolian said in its filing.
CP Axtra (BKK:CPAXT) reported a profit attributable to owners of 1.87 billion baht in the second quarter, down from 2.29 billion baht a year earlier.Earnings per share were 0.18 baht, compared with 0.22 baht in the year-ago period, according to an Aug. 7 Thailand Exchange filing.Total revenue rose to 132.3 billion baht from 129.1 billion baht previously.
(Updates to add stock movement in the headline and the last paragraph)Australian shipbuilder Austal (ASX:ASB) received a non-binding, conditional proposal from a unit of South Korea's Hanwha Group to acquire its U.S. operations for an indicative enterprise value of up to $1.20 billion.Hanwha Defence USA has offered $1.05 billion to $1.20 billion for the relevant Austal USA entities and operations, according to a Tuesday press release.The proposed deal would cover 100% of the relevant Austal US entities but exclude Austal's publicly traded shares and its core Australasia operations in Australia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.The offer is subject to due diligence, regulatory approvals, and agreement on definitive transaction terms.Austal's board has approved a four-week due diligence period for Hanwha to review the US business and engage with key government and other counterparties.The proposal does not include a financing condition, the statement said.Austal's shares jumped around 19% in recent Tuesday trade.