Australian Indexes Extend Weekly Gains, iProperty Soars 10%

Marcus Jacob
19 Jun, 2015
New York City

Australian market indexes advanced following the gains in New York and the Aussie dollar gained after the U.S. Fed statement. iProperty Group soared nearly 10% after it lifted its revenues outlook. Sydney Airport said domestic and international traffic increased in May.

[R]5:30 PM Sydney – Australian market indexes advanced following the gains in New York and the Aussie dollar gained after the U.S. Fed statement. iProperty Group soared nearly 10% after it lifted its revenues outlook. Sydney Airport said domestic and international traffic increased in May.[/R]

Stocks in Sydney gained and the Aussie dollar strengthened to 78 U.S. cents after positive momentum in New York.

Australian dollar closed at 77.68 U.S. cents and in stock trading turnover climbed to 1.23 billion shares worth $6.7 billion.

At close, the ASX 200 Index jumped 72.10 or 1.3% to 5,595.40 and the broader All Ordinaries Index increased 68.80 to 5,591.50.

For the week, ASX 200 gained 0.9%.

In commodities trading, gold soared US$22 to US$1,202 an ounce and Brent crude edged up 0.05 cents to close at US$64.31 a barrel.

Australian Stock Movers

iProperty Group Ltd surged 9.7% to $2.49 after the online real estate information provider lifted its group revenues forecast for the year to a range between $32.5 million and $36 million from the earlier estimated range of $30 million to $36 million.

The company also increased operating income forecast in the range of $3 million to $6 million compared to previous guidance between $2 million and $5 million.

Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd increased 1.9% to $5.20 after the airport terminal operator said total passengers traffic in May jumped 1.6% to 3.04 million from 2.99 million in a year ago month.

Domestic passenger traffic increased 1.4% to 2.05 million and international passenger traffic climbed 1.9% after 2.5 percentage point increase in load factors.

Western Areas Ltd climbed 4.7% to $3.76 after the nickel producer agreed to acquire the Cosmos Nickel Complex in Western Australia from Xstrata Nickel Australasia Operations Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Glencore Plc for $24.5 million.