5 out of 5: Aus shares close 0.33% higher

Market Reports

by Carolyn Herbert

It has been a stellar week for the Australian share market with 5 out of 5 trading days closing in the black. Today the local bourse jumped at the open and managed to maintain that momentum throughout the session before closing X per cent higher. The financials space led the gains today, with all of the big four banks closing higher. The materials space was also a strong performer with Whitehaven Coal leading the charge; closing up more than 12.5 per cent.

Today, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 18 points up to finish at 5,430. Over the week the index added 199 points.

The value of trades was $4.1 billion on volume of 607 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) and ANZ Banking Group (ASX:ANZ).

On the futures market the SPI is up 1 point.

US markets

Looking at Wall Street, US major indexes have risen over the four trading days this week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has added 2.9 per cent. The S&P 500 Index has gained 1.6 per cent. The NASDAQ has added 1.5 per cent. The 100 Index has added 1.5 per cent.

Company news

Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX:SLR) has been notified by ACH Minerals that it has exercised its option to purchase the Company’s Great Southern Project for cash consideration of $5 million. The company says its a further step in its strategy to realise value from its non-core assets and minimise financial and management commitments outside its Mount Monger operations. Shares in Silver Lake Resources closed 0.76 per cent lower at $0.65.

Ruralco Holdings Limited (ASX:RHL) has announced one of its live export licences has been cancelled by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.

Oil Search Limited (ASX:OSH) has announced an independent certification has been completed on the Elk-Antelope fields.

Best and worst performers

The best performing sector was Industrials adding 0.9 per cent to close at 5,371. The worst performing sector was REITs, losing 1.1 per cent to close at 1,511 points.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Whitehaven Coal, rising 12.54 per cent to close at $1.66. Shares in Myer and Bluescope also closed higher.

The worst performing stock was Regis Resources, dropping 3.37 per cent to close at $3.73. Shares in Newcrest Mining and Programmed also closed lower.

Commodities and the dollar

The price of gold is trading at $US1,332 an ounce, and is down $24.30 over the week.
Light crude is $0.98 higher at $US46.42 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $0.7628 and is up 0.6 of a cent over the week.

 

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