Shares grind higher in cautious trade

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Shares grind higher in cautious trade

Close Australian stocks rose today, but trade was quiet as most investors chose to sit on the sidelines.

At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 24.6 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 4551.9, chalking up a gain of 1 per cent for the week. The broader All Ordinaries index rose 27.1 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 4574.1.

Among the major sectors, materials rose 0.9 per cent, financials gained 0.5 per cent and energy shares added 0.3 per cent. Gold stocks jumped 2 per cent.

need2know:
- Asian shares rise 0.9%, for a weekly gain of 3.6%
- The dollar inches up to 86.75 US cents
- Oil slips to $US76.42
- Gold steady at $US1248, near record high
- Dow futures lose 7 points to 10,365

Wealth Within chief analyst Dale Gillham said investors remained cautious despite the market’s recovery to a one-month high on Wednesday.

‘‘Despite the general upward movement of the market over the past week, the rise hasn’t been convincing,’’ he said. ‘‘We are now at the end of the third week of June and the All Ordinaries Index has only risen 2 per cent for the month.

‘‘Further to this, the rise occurred on slightly lower volume, which indicates there is still uncertainty about the likelihood for the market to move forward.’’

Friday’s trading volume of 2 billion shares was down on recent daily average volumes.

Shock resignation

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Domestic corporate news was dominated by the sudden resignation of the chief executive of upmarket department store chain David Jones, sending the retailer's shares down initially more than 4 per cent.

David Jones trimmed losses to end down 2 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $4.49 after its chief executive Mark McInnes quit after admitting to "unbecoming" behaviour towards a female staff member. Chief rival Myer rose 1.6 per cent to $3.22.

Global mining giant BHP Billiton rose 31 cents to $39.13, with rival Rio Tinto gaining 78 cents to reach $70.85.

The gold price extended its overnight rally in Asian trade to hover near record highs. Newcrest Mining added 60 cents, or 1.7 per cent, to $35.24 while Lihir Gold rose 9 cents, or 2 per cent to $4.35.

Australia’s major lenders gained ground, with Westpac leading the sector higher and closing up 30 cents, or 1.7 per cent, at $23.56. ANZ rose 19 cents to $23.14 after announcing it signed a memorandum of understanding with China Development Bank to drive trade and investment flows between China and New Zealand.

National Australia Bank rose 32 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $25.12 while Commonwealth Bank closed up 9 cents at $52.59.

James Hardie Industries finalised its transformation to an Irish Societas Europaea company on Friday and finished 6 cents lower at $6.70.

Retailers were led by Woolworths, which added 11 cents to $27.91 and Wesfarmers, which rose 30 cents to at $29.24.

Passenger growth

Airport owner MAP Group finished 2 cents higher at $2.96 after news it experienced strong growth in passenger numbers at its three Australian and European airports in May, with operations returning to normal after the volcanic ash cloud over Europe in April.

In the news, iron ore miner Grange Resources rose 1 cent, or 2 per cent, to $51.50 and said a rock slide at its Savage River mine in Tasmania on Thursday was not expected to affect the operation.

The most traded share by volume was Environment Clean Technology Ltd, with 121.47 million shares traded for $5.6 million. Environment Clean Technology shares were down half a cent, or 10 per cent, at 4 cents.

Preliminary market turnover was 2.12 billion securities traded worth $5.03 billion, with 599 stocks up, 475 down and 383 unchanged.

AAP with BusinessDay

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