Close The Australian sharemarket recovered strongly in afternoon trade to close 0.4 per cent higher, as concerns about sovereign debt in Europe receded and investors started eyeing riskier assets.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 20.2 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4618.5, after earlier falling as low as 4557.3. The broader All Ordinaries Index added 16.5 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4706.7.
Financials led the turnaround, gaining 1.2 per cent, and health care stocks rose 0.8 per cent, while materials were down 0.2 per cent and gold shares shed 1 per cent.
need2know:
- The dollar recovers to 96.46 US cents
- Asian shares flat as investors stay wary
- Gold slips below $US1360 an ounce
- Oil climbs over $US84 a barrel
- Dow futures are 46 points higher at 11,076
The market opened the week lower, due to concerns about European sovereign debt and a negative lead from a shortened Wall Street session, but picked up during afternoon trade.
The gains came from the healthcare and energy sector stocks, while the big four banks also helped the major indices to a higher close.
In health care, Cochlear gained $2.20, or 2.8 per cent, to $80.95, Sonic Healthcare added 15 cents, or 1.28 per cent, to $11.88 and CSL was 24 cents higher at $35.24.
Rising oil prices boosted energy stocks, with Woodside adding 76 cents to $41.71, Oil Search gaining 3 cents at $6.73 and Santos up 6 cents to $12.37.
Agricultural chemicals supplier Nufarm was among the best performers, adding 21 cents, or 4.95 per cent, to $4.45.
‘‘Nufarm received a broker upgrade today citing a recovery in crop protection volumes and higher crop prices,’’ CMC Markets analyst David Taylor said. ‘‘Analysts also like the new $1 billion debt facility.’’
CBA leads bank gains
Among the banks, Commonwealth gained 99 cents to $48.57, Westpac rose by 40 cents to $21.55, ANZ Banking Group added 26 cents to $22.78 and National Australia Bank was unaffected by its technical woes to close 30 cents higher at $23.53.
"The mood is not yet bearish and one should see buying come in to arrest the dips," said Chris Kimber, client adviser at Bell Potter Securities.
AMP and AXA both lost a little ground after they signed documents to begin AMP’s takeover of the wealth manager. AMP lost 2 cents to $5.09 and AXA lost 2 cents to $6.18.
The resources sector was lower, with the smaller players losing more ground than the big miners. BHP Billiton added 4 cents to $43.24 and Rio Tinto lost 20 cents to $83.84, while Fortescue shed 11 cents to $6.54 and Iluka lost six cents to $7.59.
Gold miner Newcrest lost 60 cents to $39.77 as the spot price of gold in Sydney was $US1360.70 per fine ounce, down $US9.80 on Friday’s closing price of $US1370.50.
Telstra shares shed 1 cent to $2.84 as legislation to structurally separate its wholesale and retail arms passed the lower house in federal parliament.
Constructor and contract miner Leighton said the Spanish suitor of its major shareholder Hochtief had agreed to keep the governance agreements between the German and Australian companies if the takeover succeeds. Leighton shares dropped 2 cents to $31.91.
Baraka Petroleum was the top traded stock by volume, with 165.4 million shares traded for a value of $1.28 million. Baraka shares gained 0.2 of a cent, or 33 per cent, to 0.8 cents.
Preliminary national turnover was 2.35 billion shares, worth $4.65 billion, with 504 stocks trading higher, 596 down and 359 unchanged.
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BusinessDay, with AAP, Reuters