Proactiveinvestors recommends
Pdf

Australian shares end higher, gold miners mixed

6th Jan 2009, 11:33 am Australian shares end higher, gold miners mixed

The Australian sharemarket opened higher and kept moving higher, led by large moves in smaller resource stocks as well as bank stocks.   The poor lead from Wall Street was ignored and traders seem to wade into the market today with a philosophy that they might be missing out on any new upswing by not buying today.


Regional Asian markets continued their strong upward move for the seventh day. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose for a seventh straight day, up 1.1% to a two-month high and shrugging off weakness on Wall Street where investors took profits on last week's run-up.


Japan's Nikkei average climbed 1.1%.


The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 55.7 points, or 1.5%, to 3742.7, to a two month high.


Bank stocks sold off


Bank stocks were stronger as ANZ Bank (ASX:ANZ) gained 33 cents, or 2.2%, to $15.40,  Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) was up 87 cents, or 3%, to $29.47, NAB (ASX:NAB) rose 51 cents, or 2.5%, to $20.74 and Westpac (ASX:WBC) jumped 39 cents, or 2.3%, to $17.03.


Miners continue to regain ground – smaller is better


A rebound in the oil price seemed to keep metal prices higher and continued the recovery of resource stocks since December 2008.  BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP)was up 7 cents, or 0.2%, to $31.70, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) gained $1.12, or 2.6%, to $43.42 and Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) added 4 cents, or 1.9%, to $2.14.


Gold stocks were mixed, as Lihir Gold (ASX:LGL) gave up 26 cents, or 9%, to $2.64 and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) gained 38 cents, or 1.2%, to $31.60 from yesterday’s large fall.


Oil stocks were higher, Santos (ASX:STO) was up 39 cents, or 2.6%, to $15.14 and Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) was up 84 cents, or  2.2%, to $38.61.


The Australian dollar gained was steady at 71.20 US cents.

No investment advice

The Company is a publisher and is not registered with or authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). You understand and agree that no content published on the Site constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable or advisable for any specific person. You further understand that none of the information providers or their affiliates will advise you personally concerning the nature, potential, advisability, value or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy, or other matter.

You understand that the Site may contain opinions from time to time with regard to securities mentioned in other products, including company related products, and that those opinions may be different from those obtained by using another product related to the Company. You understand and agree that contributors may write about securities in which they or their firms have a position, and that they may trade such securities for their own account. In cases where the position is held at the time of publication and such position is known to the Company, appropriate disclosure is made. However, you understand and agree that at the time of any transaction that you make, one or more contributors may have a position in the securities written about. You understand that price and other data is supplied by sources believed to be reliable, that the calculations herein are made using such data, and that neither such data nor such calculations are guaranteed by these sources, the Company, the information providers or any other person or entity, and may not be complete or accurate.

From time to time, reference may be made in our marketing materials to prior articles and opinions we have published. These references may be selective, may reference only a portion of an article or recommendation, and are likely not to be current. As markets change continuously, previously published information and data may not be current and should not be relied upon.