-- Consumer staples stocks were advancing about 0.5% in midday trading Tuesday, posting a very thin lead over gains for information technology shares.
Woolworths Group (ASX:WOW) was up nearly 1% and Coles Group (ASX:COL) rose less than 1%.
On the flip side, energy stocks were down 1% as oil prices trended lower amid hopes that Iran will join a second round of peace negotiations with the US.
Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) was shedding almost 2%, while Santos (ASX:STO) was down more than 1%.
Sheffield Green (SGX:SGR) rebranded its training subsidiary, Wind Asia Training and Stier Training Services to Trainergy, according to a Tuesday filing with the Singapore Exchange.Shares of the human resource services provider were down over 5% in Wednesday trading.The strategic move will unify the division to meet global demand for skilled labor in the global energy sector.Trainergy provides training and competency services across several sectors.
Producer input prices in the UK increased 5.4% year over year in March, following a revised 0.7% gain in February, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday.Meanwhile, producer output or factory gate prices jumped 2.6% annually, against the revised 1.8% rise earlier.On a monthly basis, producer input prices climbed 4.4% in March, compared with the revised 0.9% increase previously and the forecast of a 2.8% gain. Monthly factory gate prices edged up 0.9%, versus a 0.5% decline earlier and a projected 1% growth.
Far East Smarter Energy's (SHA:600869) attributable profit rose 110% to 96.6 million yuan in the first quarter from 45.9 million yuan in the year-ago period, according to a Wednesday filing with the Shanghai bourse.Earnings per share at the smart energy services company increased 104% to 0.0422 yuan from 0.0207 yuan in the prior-year period.Operating income grew 9.3% year over year to 5.32 billion yuan from 4.87 billion yuan.Shares increased 9% during afternoon trading on Wednesday.