The Australian share market closed higher on Friday following a good lead from US markets and encouraging company earnings reports.
“It’s been a very happy Valentine’s Day for investors today, and the momentum that we’ve seen through the week is very much intact at the moment,” OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said.
“We got a good lead from Wall Street overnight. We’ve had some reasonable earnings numbers, but it hasn’t entirely been backed up by price action.”
Mr Le Brun was surprised that miner Rio Tinto had made only a tiny gain given good earnings results released by the company after the local share market had closed on Thursday.
He said higher-than-expected inflation figures out of China on Friday had not perturbed the local market much.
In the resources sector, Rio Tinto found seven cents at $67.90 after posting a larger-than-expected full year profit and dividend late on Thursday.
Global miner BHP Billiton jumped 39 cents to $37.71, and Fortescue rose eight cents to $5.70.
Goldminer Newcrest was off 21 cents at $11.05 after suffering an 88 per cent fall in first half profit, but the company expects to hit its full year production and cashflow targets.
Uranium miner Paladin Energy was steady at 47.5 cents after a third consecutive year of weak uranium prices resulted in a half year net loss of $255 million.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank lifted 24 cents to $75.99, ANZ improved 35 cents to $31.34, Westpac strengthened 31 cents at $32.75, and National Australia Bank advanced 11 cents to $34.12.
Among other stocks, the world’s largest listed metals recycler, Sims Metal Management, surged 68 cents, or 6.79 per cent, to $10.70 after it reported a half year net profit of $9.3 million – a sharp turnaround from the $296 million first half loss recorded a year ago.
Australia’s largest car and truck retailer, Automotive Holdings Group, eased five cents to $3.65 after it managed a small rise in half year profit.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Friday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had risen 48.2 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 5,356.3 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was also up 48.2 points, or 0.91 per cent, at 5,366.9 points.
* The March share price index futures contract had risen 45 points to 5,308 points, with 26,233 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.65 billion securities worth $4.14 billion.
