Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange at noon:

ANZ - ANZ BANKING GROUP LTD - down four cents at $16.09

British bank Standard Chartered and ANZ are set to divide up the Asian assets of embattled Royal Bank of Scotland, a press report said on Thursday.

BHP - BHP BILLITON LTD - down 98 cents, or 2.8 per cent, at $33.32

BHP Billiton will sell its Yabulu nickel refinery in Queensland for an undisclosed sum and will book $US675 million ($A853.57 million) in writedowns on the sale.

FEA - FOREST ENTERPRISES AUSTRALIA LTD - up one cent, or eight per cent, at 13.5 cents

GNS - GUNNS LTD - down 1.5 cents, or 1.5 per cent, at 96.5 cents

Woodchipper Gunns has acquired a 17.9 per cent stake in Forest Enterprises Australia at ten cents per share.

RIO - RIO TINTO LTD - in trading halt, last traded at $51.75

Rio Tinto shares are in a trading halt as its bank underwriters offload shares that were not taken up under its Australian equity raising, which attracted acceptances for 94.76 per cent of the new stock on offer.

SGM - SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT LTD - down 93 cents, or 3.6 per cent, at $24.94

Metal recycler Sims Metal Management has bought US recycler Fairless Iron & Metal for an undisclosed amount.