Australian Jobless Rate Drops to 6%

Marcus Jacob
11 Jun, 2015
New York City

Australian market indexes traded higher for the second day in a row and the Aussie dollar held firm. Jobless rate in May declined to 6% from the revised 6.1% in April. Ramsay Health Care Limited soared after the private hospital operator reaffirmed earnings outlook.

[R]5:30 PM Sydney – Australian market indexes traded higher for the second day in a row and the Aussie dollar held firm. Jobless rate in May declined to 6% from the revised 6.1% in April. Ramsay Health Care Limited soared after the private hospital operator reaffirmed earnings outlook.[/R]

Australian market indexes gained following the rise in international markets in New York and in Europe on the expectation of a compromise between Greece and international lenders.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May dropped to 6% from the revised 6.1% in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

Unemployment decreased by 22,000 to 745,200.

The department added economy added 42,000 jobs in May to 11,759,600 and seasonally adjusted participation rate in the on the month remained steady at 64.7% from the revised April estimate.

Australian dollar closed at 77.54 U.S. cents and in stock trading turnover fell to 689 billion shares worth $4.5 billion.

At close, the ASX 200 Index climbed 78.10 or 1.4% to 5,478.60 and the broader All Ordinaries Index jumped 76.60 to 5,562.60.

In commodities trading, gold gained US$5 to US$1,186 an ounce and Brent crude slid 0.25 cents to close at US$61.18 a barrel.

IPO

Gateway Lifestyle Limited jumped 4% to $2.08 after the homebuilder priced its stock at $2.

The stock opened at $2.10 and closed at $2.08.

Australian Stock Movers

BC Iron Limited surged 8.5% to 38.5 cents after the iron ore mining company said it will repay the remaining US$30.8 million outstanding on its secured term loan facility on June 29.

Following repayment, the miner still has interest-free and security-free debt facility of about US$5 million.

Pacific Energy Limited climbed 3.5% to 44.5 cents after the power generation company secured a contract runs ending in 2028 to build a 14 mega watt power station commencing installation on September 1 in Western Australia.

The contract is for an initial term of 5-years.

Ramsay Health Care Limited jumped 3.3% to $61.24 after the private hospital operator reaffirmed growth of net profit and earnings per share for the year in the range of 18% to 20%.

The company also plans for further expansion in new and existing markets including brownfield capacity expansions worth about $1 billion in the next 5 years.

Shopping Centres Australia Property Group Re Ltd was halted at $2.13 and the developer agreed to acquire three shopping centres in Tasmania as well as Mount Warren Park in Queensland for a combined purchase price of $99.4 million.

The company forecasted earnings per share for the year between 12.6 cents and 12.8 cents.

SingTel Optus Pty Limited, the Singapore focused telecommunication group plans to sell seven-year fixed-rate bonds worth $250 million scheduled on June 17.