Close The Australian share market recorded its eighth straight session of gains to close moderately higher after stronger than expected economic indicators turned around early losses.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 12.2 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 4820.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 9.7 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 4829.3.
The ASX200 has now risen eight consecutive days, during which it chalked up 226 points, or 4.9 per cent. The last time the market gained eight days in a row was five years ago, when it added 3.5 per cent to 4242 - only to stumble back to 3958 shortly thereafter.
Among the sectors, financials rose 0.6 per cent today, energy shares lifted 0.4 per cent, while materials dropped 0.7 per cent.
- Asian shares follow metals prices down
- The dollar treads water around 91 US cents
- Oil slips to $US81 on supply forecasts
- Gold falls to $US1120 as bargain buying stops
- Dow futures are 13 points lower at 10,525
CommSec market analyst Juliette Saly said the market jumped after a record rise in job ads and a lift in business confidence.
‘‘We started in negative territory and that the was expected theme of the day, after seven consecutive sessions of gains and a flat lead from offshore markets, but strong economic data turned the market around,’’ Ms Saly said. ‘‘As soon as the data came out we started to see rises in all the banking stocks."
The big four banks made solid gains, with National Australia Bank leading the way by rising 54 cents, or 2.05 per cent, to $26.87.
Commonwealth Bank put on 39 cents to $55.21, ANZ added two cents to $23.82 and Westpac rose 14 cents to $26.97. Macquarie Group fell 72 cents to $48.83.
Major energy stocks ended mostly higher, with gas giant Santos adding 25 cents to $14.08 and Origin Energy up 8 cents to $16.94. Oil Search put on 7 cents to $5.64 but rival Woodside Petroleum fell 3 cents to $45.22.
CBD Energy rose 0.5 cents, or 4.8 per cent, to 11 cents, after its subsidiary eco-Kinetics won a two-year contract with Queensland electricity utility Ergon Energy.
Miners slugged
After a recent strong run the miners were hit by profit-taking.
Mining giant BHP Billiton was down 11 cents to $43.40 and rival Rio Tinto was off 79 cents to $76.15. Iron ore specialist Fortescue Metals Group was off 3 cents to $4.84.
Noble Mineral Resources got a boost after it increased its estimated resource at its Bibiani gold mine in West Africa. Shares in Noble company came out of a trading halt to finish up six cents, or 20.7 per cent, to 35 cents.
Among the gold miners Lihir lost 5 cents to $2.89 and Newcrest dropped 4 cents to $34.30.
Media stocks were mostly stronger, with News Corp up 13 cents to $18.46 and its non-voting scrip gaining 11 cents to $15.79. Fairfax put on 2.5 cents to $1.765 while Consolidated Media lost 3 cents to end at $3.18.
Centrebet jumps
Online gaming firm Centrebet International jumped 17 cents, or 10.4 per cent, to $1.80 after it said it was ‘‘facilitating discussions’’ with organisations that had expressed an interest in taking over the company.
Retailers were mostly higher, with Coles owner Wesfarmers rising 18 cents to $32.71 and rival Woolworths up 19 cents to $28.12.
Among the up-market retailers Myer Holdings was up 8 cents to $3.51 and David Jones was steady at $5.04. Harvey Norman shares edged 2 cents higher to $3.97.
The top-traded stock by volume was biotech company OBJ Ltd, with 130.74 million shares worth $7.45 million changing hands. Its shares were up 0.8 cents, or 15.69 per cent, at 5.9 cents.
Preliminary national turnover was 2.49 billion shares worth $5.99 billion, with 514 stocks up, 529 down and 389 unchanged.
AAP, with BusinessDay
