It has been a somewhat lack lustre end to the trading week for the Australian share market. Despite very positive leads from Wall Street our market had a somewhat muted response this session and ended up closing the day 0.42 per cent higher. The energy space was the star performer this session after another jump in the price of Brent crude overnight. Also a good day for the materials space; with BHP gaining close to 2 per cent, as well as the gold stocks making some modest gains.
Today, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 23 points up to finish at 5,331.Over the week the index gained 34 points.
The value of trades was $5.5 billion on volume of 753 million shares at the close of trade. The top three stocks by value were Telstra Corporation Limited
(ASX:TLS), Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA), Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC).
On the futures market the SPI is 24 points up.
US marketsLooking at Wall Street, US major indexes have gained over the four trading days this week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has added 0.4 per cent. The S&P 500 Index has added 0.1 per cent. The NASDAQ has gained 0.1 per cent. The 100 Index has added 0.25 per cent.
Company newsAustral Gold Limited
(ASX:AGD) has announced it has appointed Stabro Kasaneva as CEO of the gold miner and Jose Bordogna as CFO effective immediately. Mr Kasaneva has been the COO of the company since 2009 and has led the company through the re-start of the Guanaco mine in late 2010 and through the past several years of consistent production of 50,000 ounces annually. Shares in Austral Gold last traded at $0.18.
One-stop-baby shop, the Baby Bunting Group Ltd
(ASX:BBN), says its statutory net profit was up 38% to $8.3 million, compared to last year.
Electronic payment platform provider, BPS Technology Ltd
(ASX:BPS), is set to acquire the company which produces ‘The Entertainment Book’.
Best and worst performersThe best performing sector was Energy adding 1.7 per cent to close at 8,581. The worst performing sector was Telcos, losing 1.1 per cent to close at 2,019 points.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Mesoblast, rising 11.76 per cent to close at $1.61. Shares in OzMinerals and Whitehaven Coal also closed higher.
The worst performing stock was Suncorp, dropping 4.01 per cent to close at $13.15. Shares in BWP Trust and Magellan Financial also closed lower.
Commodities and the dollarThe price of gold is trading at $US1,340 an ounce, and is up $3.49 over the week.
Light crude is $1.77 higher at $US44.23 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying $0.7687 and is up 0.7 cents for the week.
