The S&P/ASX All Ords Index (ASX: XAO) (Index: ^AORD) bucked the trend on Tuesday morning by rising nearly 0.3% by midday following a 0.51% fall on Wall Street overnight.
While there were some notable declines from Australia's favourite blue-chip stocks like Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), which were both down over 2%, there were some much more impressive gains from some Australian giants!
3 Stocks SMASHING the market
Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) shares surged over 7% to hit a high of $3.58, close to a 7-year high after CEO Alan Joyce said the company was realising the benefits of its massive cost cutting program and lower oil prices. Mr Joyce confirmed that the company would realise over $1.3 billion in savings from these two factors alone!
Debt will be reduced by around $1 billion and Qantas has been successful in cutting close to 4,000 of the 5,000 jobs it had previously announced were be removed from the company by 2017. Qantas' shares hit a low of 95 cents towards the end of 2013, implying some investors could be sitting on nearly a four-fold increase in just 18 months!
Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) shares jumped nearly 4% to rise back above $10 after reaching $11 in April. The company confirmed in a presentation that it was on track to hit its full-year targets despite some negative reaction from the media and public to its Coke Life project. The company's shares are forecast to yield as much as 4.3% fully franked in the 2016 financial year.
QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) shares rose as much as 3% in early trade but pulled back to be nearly 2% higher by lunch time on essentially no news. As I wrote yesterday, QBE remains a great option for investors looking for a combination of earnings and dividend growth in the years ahead. Analysts are expecting a payout of 40 cents this year, 49 cents next year and over 54 cents in 2017!
