The Australian share market pared back earlier gains on offshore leads to close slightly higher, led by telecom stocks.
At 1615 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 11 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 4,307.5 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had risen 12.8 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 4,382.7 points.
On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was eight points higher at 4,297, on volume of 38,811 contracts.
BBY institutional dealer Stewart Palmer said volumes were slightly below average as investors turned to major markets for guidance, post-reporting season.
“The market traded in a pretty narrow range all day, everything was a little stronger.
“I think (following) the results season, everyone’s looking for a lead from somewhere, I don’t know where it’s going to come from, probably from economic data from our trading partners,” he said.
The market opened higher on the back of a gains from Wall Street.
US stocks overnight gained on better than expectd manufacturing data from the country’s industrial heartland.
Shaw Stockbroking senior dealer Jamie Spiteri said recent offshore gains had helped the local market stay solid.
“We’re seeing a bit of consistency and stability emerging in offshore markets in comparison to recent volatility, and that enabled our market here in Australia to gain a bit of traction, in particular the resources sector,” Mr Spiteri said.
Among the miners, BHP Billiton was 13 cents higher at $39.87.
Fellow miner Rio Tinto was up 56 cents at $73.08 after it appointed former BHP Billiton chief financial officer Chris Lynch to its board as a non-executive director.
“Despite all the fluctuations of recent weeks, commodity prices have continued to remain fairly steady and that does give some degree of optimism that the resources sector has still got underlying appeal,” Mr Spiteri said.
“… so we’ve seen some consistent recovery across that resources sector here in recent days and it’s continued to carry on that momentum here today,” he said.
The best performing sector was the telecoms, up 0.87 per cent.
Telstra shares were three cents higher at $3.06 after the telco told shareholders it would be almost $5 billion better off under its structural separation plan than if it competes with the National Broadband Network.
Making news on Thursday, Qantas shares closed 2.5 cents, or 1.59 per cent, at $1.595 after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook on the airline to stable from negative, based on the airline group’s new international strategy.
The major banks were mixed, with ANZ losing two cents to $20.27 and Commonwealth Bank down 14 cents at $48.08. National Australia Bank rose 13 cents to $23.85 and Westpac was 12 cents higher at $20.72.
At 1615 AEST, the spot price of gold in Sydney was $US1,817.70 per fine ounce, down $15.35 from Wednesday’s local close at $US1,833.05.
Preliminary national turnover at 1631 AEST was 2.37 billion shares changing hands for $5.27 billion, with 585 stocks higher, 446 lower and 357 steady.
