Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Thursday:

BHP – BHP BILLITON – up 10 cents, or 0.28 per cent, to $35.84

WHC – Whitehaven Coal – down 4.5 cents, or 2.47 per cent, to $1.775

China is banning high-polluting coal from 2015 to help tackle air pollution across the country. China imports about 300 million metric tonnes of coal a year.

PMV – PREMIER INVESTMENTS – up 77 cents, or 7.8 per cent, to $10.60

Solomon Lew’s retail outfit has lifted its underlying full year profit by 10 per cent to $106 million and has built up a cash pile of more than $300 million.

QAN – QANTAS – down three cents, or 1.98 per cent, to $1.485

Foreign ownership levels in the Australian airline have crept up to 44.7 per cent, nearing the 49 per cent cap placed on overseas investors.

SAI – SAI GLOBAL – down 25 cents, or 5.6 per cent, to $4.18

The compliance services business has ended takeover talks with two private equity firms after they missed Tuesday’s deadline to lodge their bid.

YOW – YOWIE – up 2.5 cents, or 3.7 per cent, to 70 cents

The Australian chocolate maker has sealed a deal with US retail giant Walmart for a trial sale of its products in 50 stores from October.