Investors swoop on share bargains

The sharemarket rose sharply as higher commodity prices helped resource stocks regain more of the ground lost in recent weeks.
The ASX 200 rose 55.8 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 5109.5 while the All Ordinaries rose 55.2 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 5069.9.
CMC Markets senior dealer Phil Martin said buyers had again swooped on many of the stocks that had been hurt by the recent sell-off.
"We saw another day of investors flocking back into the market today," he said. "Though I think people are still a little bit cautious because there is a heightened awareness of the volatility that is about at the moment."
Solid gains in base metal prices boosted the big miners. BHP Billiton rose 92c to $29.47 and Rio Tinto $1.83 to $82.24.
The major banks closed higher. NAB rose 48c to $36.23, ANZ 18c to $26.95, Westpac 12c to $23.45 and CBA 12c to $44.52.
In the media sector, PBL fell 11c to $18.92 and John Fairfax 1c to $3.87. West Australian Newspapers rose 13c to $8.80 and Seven 3c to $8.33.
ABB Grain rose 20c to $7.50 after boosting its first-half net profit by 24 per cent.
Internet service provider iiNet was the top traded stock with 53.66 million shares worth $44.35 million changing hands.
The company was savaged by investors, crashing 84c, or 49.7 per cent, to 85c as it resumed trading after being suspended for five weeks.
The company revised its annual profit forecast on Friday, saying it would post earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $26.4 million, well below previous guidance of $40.1 million.
Resort and travel agency owner S8 rose 5c to $4.05 after launching a $NZ235 million ($196 million) takeover bid for Gullivers Travel Group, which rose 57c, or 40.4 per cent, to $1.98 on news of the offer.
Telstra fell 2c to $3.76 and Singapore Telecom was steady at $2.13 after its 100 per cent-owned telco Optus unveiled plans aimed at reconfiguring home phone line rentals.
In new listings, commodities-based pooled development fund MEC Resources made a disappointing debut on the ASX, opening at 19c, compared with its 20c issue price, and closing at 15c.
Platinum explorer Platina Resources opened and closed at 19.5c, a minor discount to its 20c issue price, after its initial public offering raised $6.2 million.
Among the retail stocks, Coles Myer rallied 21c to $11.37 while Woolworths rose 5c to $18.95.
Deep vein thrombosis drug developer Alchemia said it had acquired control of takeover-target Meditech Research after obtaining 64.9 per cent acceptances. Meditech was steady at 13.5c while Alchemia eased 1c to $1.22.
Gold stocks were mixed. Lihir Gold rose 12c to $3.09, Newcrest Mining was unchanged at $20.65 and Kingsgate Consolidated fell 14c to $4.80.
Shares in property and tourism investment group MFS rose 5c to $1.24.
MFS said it planned to raise up to $100 million to form a new unlisted company which will invest in alternative investment fund managers.
Ailing winemaker McGuigan Simeon Wines was in a trading halt pending a detailed analysis of its stock position and outlook.
It last traded at $2.70.