Daily FNArena News - Australia

Both Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley have added coverage on Australian companies today, while Macquarie has cut iSoft from its coverage universe.

Woodside’s quarterly production and revenues surprised to the upside but further delays are likely at Pluto-1 and Pluto-2 gas exploration is proving disappointing.

Stockbroker Moelis expects continued solid earnings growth from recruitment group Talent2 following a meeting with management.

In a mixed result for Wesfarmers, impacted by bad weather, the ongoing Coles turnaround story was the major highlight.

JP Morgan has today downgraded Monadelphous on valuation grounds, becoming the third broker in the FNArena database to lower its rating on the stock this month.

National Australia Bank’s latest quarterly Australian Commercial Property Survey showed some improvement in the market and expectations of further gains over the next 12 months.

PanAust and OZ Minerals have copped a broker downgrade beating while Kingsgate has moved to fill the void left by Lihir.

There were few surprises in the Woolworths quarterly sales result, so opinion remains divided on the company’s growth outlook.

CBA’s Business Sales Indicator suggests Australian consumer spending is slowly trending higher, while research by Datamonitor suggests spending habits are changing.

Analysts are not convinced two Tabcorps offer any more value than one, and any takeover potential will will be tempered by regulatory and cost hurdles.