Takeover talk drives Qantas, Foster's, DJs

Talk of takeovers drove the sharemarket higher yesterday, centred on Qantas and speculation that brewer and winemaker Foster's was also a target.
The ASX200 index closed 21.2 points higher at 5466.9, while the All Ordinaries rose 18.8 to 5441.6.
ABN Amro Morgan client adviser Margaret Morrissey said Qantas lost some value because of politicians casting doubt over a proposed private equity deal for the airline.
"They are worried about the assets being stripped and sent offshore," Ms Morrissey said.
Qantas shares closed down 7c at $4.93, having gone as low as $4.83 early, but Allco Finance Group, which revealed it had been approached to join the private equity syndicate, improved 70c to $11.02.
Ms Morrissey said the 27c lift in Foster's to $6.80 was due to speculation that the world's biggest brewer, Belgium's InBev, was circling for a takeover.
"Rumour has it that they will pay $7.50," Ms Morrissey said.
On the eve of the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the US, technology stocks gained slightly but the Dow was little changed.
Here, the banking sector was strong with Westpac the best, up 47c to $24.49. The NAB gained 48c to $38.89, the Commonwealth also picked up 47c to $48.12 while ANZ rose 20c to $28.25.
Guy Hutchings, chief investment officer of MFS Investment Management, said the focus on banks probably related more to the risk of other sectors, including the major miners and energy stocks.
"There is a sense that metal prices are vulnerable and volatility may well rise in coming months," Mr Hutchings said.
Resources were mixed, with BHP Billiton falling 8c to $26.35 and Rio Tinto up just 1c to $74.45.
Oil and gas producer Woodside jettisoned 49c to $36.50. Santos fell 17c and Oil Search 5c to $3.29.
In retail, David Jones, also a target of takeover speculation, benefited with a 14c jump to a record closing high of $3.90.
Coles bounced 10c to $13.74 while supermarket rival Woolworths was 14c weaker at $21.87.
In media, Fairfax was steady at $5.15 while Publishing and Broadcasting put on 18c to $20.84.
News Corp lifted 10c to $28.49 while its non voting scrip gained 5c to $27.35.
Telstra's T3 instalments, again the most traded stock with 214.7 million shares changing hands for $491.68 million, retreated 5c to $2.25 while the real Telstras fell 3c to $3.69.
Healthcare group Symbion, which said it was on track to meet its earnings guidance for 2006-07, was rewarded with a 7c rise to $3.30.
Spot gold in Sydney was up $US1.70 at $US629 per fine ounce.
However, goldminers were mixed with Newcrest 51c stronger at $23.75 but Newmont lost 5c to $5.80 and Lihir was off 4c at $2.82. Bendigo was down 2.5c to 77.5c.
Western Metals, which was interested in the Zeehan tin mine, was up 0.9c to 5.8c, with 93 million traded, on news it had picked up some promising uranium tenements in Tanzania.