US stock markets have soared to fresh records, but internet broadband carriers were hit hard by President Barack Obama's call for tough net neutrality rules.
Soft economic conditions have resulted in P&N Bank taking a significant hit to its earnings with the credit society reporting a 30 per cent fall in profit.
The Health Insurance Fund of Australia has broken through the $100 million revenue mark for the first time, reporting income of $106 million from premiums.
The Dow and S&P 500 have both closed at fresh records after the Republicans took power in both US Houses of Congress and lifted hopes for pro-business policies.
The share market has closed slightly higher as poor trade figures and an upward revision to recent unemployment figures muted the response to strong growth in retail spending.
The Australian dollar has fallen to an almost three-week low after the release of weak local building approvals figures and Chinese manufacturing data.