The Australian stock market has opened higher, with gains in financial and energy stocks offsetting weakness among gold miners.
CommSec market analyst Juliana Roadley said it was likely to be a quiet day for the local market now the US Federal Reserve’s decision to taper its stimulus program was out of the way.
“We saw the volumes fall off dramatically in the US overnight, so we’re expecting a bit of a quiet session,” she said.
Ms Roadley said the major drag on the local market on Friday morning was gold stocks, following a slide in the precious metal’s price overnight.
Gold miner Newcrest was down 29 cents, or nearly four per cent, at $7.03 while OZ Minerals was down nine cents, more than three per cent, to $2.73.
Global miner BHP Billiton had lost 12 cents to $36.68, Rio Tinto was down 41 cents at $66.12 but Fortescue Metals was one cent higher at $5.76.
But energy companies were higher, with Woodside Petroleum up 51 cents to $38.47 and Santos up 22 cents to $14.33.
The big banks also were higher, with Westpac up 13 cents at $31.50 in early trade, ANZ 16 cents higher at $31.29, National Australia Bank seven cents better at $34.10 and Commonwealth Bank up 51 cents at $75.36.
Telstra was two cents higher at $5.13.
KEY FACTS
* On Friday at 1030 AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 12.8 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 5,214.7 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 12.5 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 5,214.5 points.
* The March share price index futures contract was three points higher at 5,187 points, with 9,054 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 457 million securities worth $3.2 billion.
