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Australian shares finish at fresh 11-month high on Wall Street leads

Thursday, 21 Jul 2016 15:43:49 | Thuy Ong

Overnight gains on Wall Street helped buoy the local market today. (Chip East, file photo: Reuters)

The Australian share market has risen to finish at its highest point in 11 months, supported by Wall Street finishing at record highs.

Markets at 5:21pm (AEST)

  • ASX 200 +0.4 pc to 5,512, All Ords +0.4 pc to 5,589
  • Major gains: Fairfax +4.6 pc to $1.03, GWA +3.9 pc to $2.13, Lendlease +3.8 pc to $12.99
  • Major losses: St Barbara -9.4 pc to $3.00, Newcrest Mining -3 pc to $23.57, Bluescope Steel -1.6 pc to $7.98
  • Futures trade: Euro STOXX 600 +0.1 pc to 339.5, FTSE -0.3 pc to 6,662, S&P 500 flat at 2,168.
  • AUD: 74.9 US cents, 56.5 British pence, 80.1 Japanese yen, 67.9 euro cents, $NZ1.073

The local bourse was supported by banking stocks, with ANZ leading gains and adding 0.8 per cent, while Westpac added 0.7 per cent.

Biotechnology stocks had another strong day, with CSL jumping 1.8 per cent to an all-time high of $3.59, while Sonic Healthcare climbed 1.7 per cent to a one-year high.

In company news, Papua New Guinea-focused oil and gas producer Oil Search said it would not submit a revised takeover offer for InterOil, after ExxonMobil made a superior bid earlier this week.

Shares in Oil Search rose 1.1 per cent on a combination of the announcement and a rising oil price.

Woodside Petroleum finished 1 per cent higher. The oil company said its production and sales were up 10 per cent and 8 per cent respectively, but tumbling LNG prices and lower sales have taken a toll on its second quarter revenue stream.

Meanwhile, the competition watchdog said it would not stand in the way of ports and transport operator Asciano being bought out by a global consortium, nor would it block Metcash's possible Home Timber and Hardware takeover.

Shares in Asciano gained 1 per cent, while Metcash soared 2.4 per cent.

In commodities trade, spot gold rose modestly to $US1,317 an ounce, while West Texas Crude is buying $US44.91 a barrel.

AustraliaPlus


 

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