Poor leads from overseas didn’t stop the local market charging higher at open and gains have been extended throughout the morning to see the local bourse 1.4 per cent higher at noon.
The banks came of recent sluggish trading to support the ASX with Commonwealth Bank and Westpac both recording gains above 2 per cent.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 81 points up at 5,795. On the futures market the SPI is 73 points higher.
Looking at economic news: The HIA has shown a 0.6 per cent increase in new home sales in April on the back of record low interest rates fuelling housing investment.
Company news
Origin Energy Limited
(ASX:ORG) has appointed Steve Sargent to the board as an independent non-executive director. The company says Mr Sargent has more than 36 years of experience in mining, energy, banking and finance and has held senior positions across Australia, US , Europe and Asia. He is currently a non executive director of Veda Group, Bond University and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Shares in Origin are trading up 2.81 per cent at $13.18
Meanhile Sirtex Medical Limited
(ASX:SRX) has gone into a trading halt today before an announcement is made on the company’s liver cancer trial results. The company will present SIRFLOX study results in Chicago on Saturday and says it anticipates important new information will be presented. Normal trading on the ASX will resume on Tuesday the 2nd June or upon release of the announcement, whichever comes first. Shares in Sirtex last traded at $26.68
Best and worst performers All major sectors are trading higher today the best performing sector is financials excluding REITs, gaining 1.9 per cent to 7,627. Shares in Westpac Bank
(ASX:WBC) have risen 2.42 per cent and trading at $33.92. Shares in Commonwealth Bank
(ASX:CBA) and Henderson Group
(ASX:HGG) are also stronger.
The sector with the least gains is consumer staples, gaining 0.7 per cent to 9,159. Shares in Woolworths Limited
(ASX:WOW) are up 0.21 per cent, trading at $28.07. Shares in Coca-Cola Amatil Limited
(ASX:CCL) and Graincorp Limited
(ASX:GNC) are also higher.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,189 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying $US0.7658
