Australian stocks traded sideways today as better than expected Chinese economic data offset ongoing weakness in energy and mining stocks with the All Ords dipping 2.2 points to 5286.8.

China’s GDP rose 7.3% in the December quarter above forecast bringing full-year growth up to 7.4%.

Oil Search (ASX:OSH) fell 0.3% to 7.47 while Santos (ASX:STO) down 2.3% to 7.37. Shares in Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) dived 5.6% to 32.27.

Market action here…

Yellow Rock Resources (ASX:YRR) has jumped 11.1% to 0.01 with more than 6.3 million shares traded.

In December the company noted that it will carry out 6325 metres of reverse circulation and diamond drilling at its Gabanintha Vanadium Project in Western Australia in the first quarter of 2015.

Besides intending to define an initial inventory of vanadium ore in the Measured category the program will also provide sAMPles for metallurgical testing and allow open pit optimisation and ore characterisation to begin.

Gabanintha has one of the highest grade vanadium deposits in the world with a current Indicated and Inferred Resource of 60.4 million tonnes grading 0.98% V2O5 11.4% TiO2 and 42.15% iron.

Other recent activity includes the awarding the stage metallurgical testing studies to Battery Limits Pty Ltd and the Gabanintha Level 1 Survey and Baseline Environmental Study to Biologic Environmental Pty Ltd.

Alexium International Group (ASX:AJX) is up 11.6% to 0.72 Indus Energy (ASX:IND) rose 13.64% to 0.025 while South Boulder Mines (ASX:STB) is up 10% to 0.22.

• [Editor:Mango]