AGL Energy announced that Moody’s credit rating agency had initiated coverage and assigned an investment grade credit rating of Baa2 with a stable outlook.

In assigning the rating, Moody’s indicated that the company’s strong retail market position and the low cost position, scale and operating track record of its generation fleet enabled AGL to navigate challenges presented by the evolving energy market in Australia.

AGL added 33 cents to $18.80. 

Bank of Queensland announced that it was embarking on a program to reshape its organisational structure. An investment in the order of $15-million (pre-tax) is anticipated.

The investment required to implement the change initiatives should deliver 100 per cent payback through cost savings within 12 months. BOQ lost 103 cents to $11.66.

Boral announced results for the half year to December 31 on Wednesday. The company reported revenue of $2.2-billionn. 

The Australian market recouped nearly half of all losses incurred in the last two trading sessions, ending above the 4800-point mark.

The index heavyweight Cochlear posted solid gains as its outstanding earnings result boosted investor confidence, while big miners were still under pressure, with BHP and RIO leading the falls.

There were mixed results from sectors; health care gained most significantly while utilities lagged behind the rest. The Australian dollar fell against the greenback but experienced mixed results against other major currencies.

At the close of weekly trading, the gold price finished at $1239.10 per ounce, the WTI oil price traded at $31.49 a barrel and the Australian dollar was worth US $0.710975.

In the US on Friday night, the Dow Jones finished up 313.66 points to end the week at 15,973.84. The result caused the Share Price Index (SPI) to move up 87 points to 4785 which should lead to a positive start to today’s trading.