Markets Live: Woodside surge drives ASX 2:01pm: Investors are still giving Woodside the thumbs up for its decision to return cash via a special dividend after it decided to shelve its $40-billion-plus Browse venture earlier this month. The stocks is currently up 8.3 per cent at $37.48, posting its biggest gain since December 2008. ""Following deferral of the Browse LNG project, Woodside has made the right decision in returning cash to shareholders,"" Sanford C Bernstein analyst Neil Beveridge wrote in a note. Raising the dividend reduces the risk of Woodside pursuing acquisitions that might hurt shareholder returns, Beveridge says. 2:00pm: Publication of prices and announcements has resumed on the NZX after a two-hour technical glitch meant only market participants could see what was going on as the benchmark stock index climbed to a new record. Retail investors wouldn't have known the NZX system had failed when the market was due to open at 10am (0800 AEST). The first statement came 56 minutes later, saying that as market participants had access to live prices, the market ""was able to trade as usual"." A spokeswoman for New Zealand's markets operator said ""issues with the market depth feed"" had been resolved. Stock prices began appearing just before noon (NZ time) and the NZX 50 Index was quoted at 4504.126, up 0.5 per cent from Monday's record close of 4483.65. 1:48pm: Australian shares have pared with miners extending earlier losses after a dip in Chinese manufacturing activity in April reinforced recent worries that the recovery in the world's second-largest economy was losing momentum. Growth in China's vast factory sector dipped in April as new export orders shrank, a preliminary survey of factory managers showed, suggesting the economy still faces formidable global headwinds into the second quarter. "It was weaker than expected and the gains in the market have come off a little bit after the announcement," says Juliana Roadley, market analyst at Commonwealth Securities. The data from China, Australia's biggest export market, weighed on mining stocks and took some of the shine off other strong performers, such as energy and financials. The latest PMI release comes after data last week showed the recovery in China's economy unexpectedly stumbled in the first quarter. Still, some traders say the soft data allows room for policymakers in Beijing to provide further stimulus if necessary. "I think there's always the potential, particularly where there's low inflation in China, it gives authorities room to move to act with stimulus if necessary," says Martin Lakos, private wealth adviser at Macquarie Private Wealth. 1:32pm: Australian travellers are set to realise how good they've had it flying on domestic routes, Matt O'Sullivan writes in a comment on the ACCC's approval for Virgin's takeover of Tiger Australia: 1:11pm: Rating agency Standard & Poor's sees more than a one-third chance that it will downgrade Japan's sovereign ratings because of uncertainty about whether the government's push to revive growth and end deflation will succeed. "The continuing prospect of a downgrade arises from risks associated with recent government initiatives and uncertainty of their success," S&P says in a report. "Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to lift Japan out of deflation and spur economic expansion--known as "Abenomics" - has three pillars: bold monetary easing, fiscal efforts to spur growth, and a strategy to induce private sector investment," it said. Of the three engines that Mr Abe foresees reinvigorating the nation's economy, so far only one, monetary easing, has kicked into full gear. The others remain idle. S&P has an AA- long-term rating on Japan's sovereign debt. 12:37pm: Evolution Mining shares have come under pressure after the Australian gold miner failed to meet its March quarter production targets due to cyclone activity and record rainfall. ""This result was marginally below production guidance for the quarter and was above full year 2013 cash cost guidance, largely due to the impact of Cyclone Oswald on the Queensland operations,"" Evolution said in its quarterly production report. Shares are down 2.6 per cent to 93 cents. 12:18pm: The Queensland government has overdone budget cuts to the point that they are hurting growth, a report says. The latest business outlook report from Deloitte Access Economics has been critical of the extent of the Newman government's public service cuts. Premier Campbell Newman axed 14,000 public service positions from last year's budget. The report says some governments, such as the commonwealth and Queensland, ""overdid"" budget cuts to the detriment of economic growth. Queensland's unemployment rate is above the national average, the tourism industry is still under pressure from the high Australian dollar and housing and construction remain lacklustre. The report also says confidence among families and small businesses in Queensland is the lowest in the country. 12:04pm: Still, the HSBC PMI has been above the 50-point level demarcating growth from contraction from the previous month since November 2012, though its failure to break above 53 indicates that the economic expansion it signals is only moderate. "New export orders contracted after a temporary rebound in March, suggesting external demand for China's exporters remains weak," said HSBC's China chief economist Qu Hongbin. Beijing is expected to respond strongly to sustain the economic recovery by increasing efforts to boost domestic investment and consumption in the coming months. 11:52am: The Chinese data is weighing a bit on shares, which have come off the day's highs, with the ASX200 now up 1 per cent, The materials sector is a bit under pressure, down 0.2 per cent, while the gold sub-index has fallen 1.4 per cent. The market's gains are being led by the energy sector, up 3.5 per cent on the back of the surge in Woodside, and financials, up 1 per cent. 11:30am: The combination of this month's retreat in global equities and gains by US consumer stocks has made US companies the five biggest in the world for the first time in eight years. Exxon Mobil, Apple, Google, Berkshire Hathaway and Wal-Mart are now the largest by market value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. PetroChina, one of three Chinese stocks in the top five last year, slipped to No. Two companies that relied on banking profits, Citigroup and General Electric, fell out since American firms last held the leading spots at the end of 2004. The shift in the rankings, a barometer of investor expectations for profits and economic growth, shows increasing confidence in Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's $US2.3 trillion of stimulus spending. Gains in retailers, computer- device makers and media companies have preceded increases in gross domestic product in the past as markets anticipated improving consumer demand. "US authorities have done an incredible job of maintaining the recovery and encouraging the consumer," says Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Wealth in London. His team ranks US shares as their top asset for 2013. An aggressive policy is working. The US consumer is in great shape. That trend continues to be very supportive of economic growth. Stocks with profits tied to American consumers have led a 130 per cent advance in the S&P 500 since March 2009 after trailing the index in the last bull market. 11:26am: Discount retailer The Reject Shop has gone into a trading halt, announcing plans to raise $40m from the market to fund an accelerated store rollout of 40 new shops this financial year, and next year. This is double the company's normal targeted annual expansion. The Reject Shop is now targeting more than 300 stores by June 30, 2014. The company also reported that comparable third quarter sales, adjusted for Easter, were up 2.9 per cent up from 2.1 per cent in the prior third quarter. Stocks were last trading at $16.72. 10:55am: CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner says Woodside's decision to pay its shareholders a 63 US cent special dividend has pulled the local market higher. ""One of the particular things that has added to the atmospherics of the market at the moment is that Woodside has announced a special dividend,"" he said. ""The reason the market likes that is that it is evidence of good conservative management and a rational approach."" 10:43am: Despite the sharemarket's recent shudders, there are still some listed investment companies - such as Djerriwarrh Investments and Mirabooka - which are trading at premiums to their underlying net asset backing. Of more interest for anyone with spare cash looking for a home may be some of the listed investment companies which are trading at discounts to their asset holdings, which may provide additional comfort if the old market maxim of 'sell in May and go away' holds true again this year. The most recent survey of listed investment companies by Bell Potter puts WestOz Investment Co at a 15.9 per cent discount to its net worth, Carlton Investments at a 14.7 per cent discount and WAM Capital at a 10.5 per cent discount. 10:17am: Oil and gas giant Woodside has declared a special dividend of 63 cents a share following its decision to shelf its controversial $40-billion-plus Browse venture earlier this month. The plan to return additional cash to shareholders was appropriate "given the lead times involved with the growth projects and forecast reductions in the company's debt levels," Woodside chairman Michael Chaney said. These initiatives reflect the board's commitment to disciplined capital management and desire to distribute additional franking credits to our shareholders. At the same time we shall continue to pursue growth opportunities where we believe they will create value for shareholders. The fully franked dividend will be paid on May 29.