Australian Stocks in 1.1% Upswing; Six Oil Drilling Licenses Awarded

Marcus Jacob
08 Jul, 2011
New York City

Australian stocks closed higher and the benchmark index gained 1.1%. The index added 1.4% for the week. Miners and financials led the gainers in trading. Four Jetstar aircrafts missed regular schedule and were grounded overnight for checking.

[R]5:00 Sydney – Australian stocks closed higher and the benchmark index gained 1.1%. The index added 1.4% for the week. Miners and financials led the gainers in trading. Four Jetstar aircrafts missed regular schedule and were grounded overnight for checking.[/R]

Australian stock indexes advanced tracking the gains in the international markets. The Australian markets generally taking cues from the overnight trading in New York gained after the U.S. lawmakers indicated willingness to compromise to raise the debt limit.

The ASX 200 index added 49.20 to 4,655 and All Ordinaries index increased 49.90 to 4,716.

In trading turnover increased to 2.19 billion shares worth $4.47 billion changed hands and 751 stocks increased, 351 decreased and 336 were unchanged.

The Australian dollar decreased 0.1% to US$1.0762 and fetched 86.89 yen.

Six companies were awarded offshore oil drilling permits in oil fields in waters off Western Australia and South Australia. U.S. based Chevron, Apache and Thailand based PTTE Exploration & Production are among the license winners. Three other companies include MEO Australia, Flow Energy and Bight Petroleum Corp of Australia.

Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson estimated combined value of exploration work of $137 million over three years.

Stock Movers

Miners and financials closed higher in a rally that lifted most sectors.

BHP Billiton increased 53 cents to $44.45 and Rio Tinto increased 90 cents to $84.35. Steelmaker BlueScope Steel decreased 5 cents to $1.35.

Four largest banks closed higher. ANZ increased 13 cents to $21.90 and National Australia Bank added 10 cents to $25.12. Westpac added 37 cents and Commonwealth Bank increased 38 cents to $51.77.

Santos Limited increased 29 cents to $13.64 after the Australian government awarded six offshore drilling licenses. Woodside Petroleum Limited increased 30 cents to $41.20.

Retailers closed higher.

David Jones Limited increased 12 cents to $4.09 and Billabong International Limited added 13 cents to $6.37. Woolworths Limited increased 13 cents to $27.78.

Qantas Airways Limited was unchanged at $2 and four Jetstar aircrafts were grounded for overnight checkup after they missed regular maintenance.