Aussie Dollar Dips Below 70 U.S. Cents Mark, ASX Jumps 1.5%

Marcus Jacob
24 Sep, 2015
New York City

Australian market indexes closed higher and defied the weak international market environment. The Aussie dollar closed below psychologically important 70 U.S. cents level. Fonterra reported a sharp in cost largely on aggressive cost cutting.

[R]5:30 PM Sydney, Australia – Australian market indexes closed higher and defied the weak international market environment. The Aussie dollar closed below psychologically important 70 U.S. cents level. Fonterra reported a sharp in cost largely on aggressive cost cutting.[/R]

Australian market indexes traded higher and Aussie dollar closed below the critical 70 U.S. cents mark.

Australian dollar closed at 69.99 U.S. cents and in stock trading turnover rose to 788.7 million shares worth $5.02 billion.

At close, the ASX 200 Index gained 73.60 or 1.5% to 5,071.70 and the broader All Ordinaries Index increased 69.80 to 5,102.30.

In commodities trading, gold jumped US$8 to US$1,135 an ounce and Brent crude future for immediate month delivery rose 30 cents to US$48.05 a barrel.

Australian Stock Movers

BHP Billiton Limited edged up 0.2% to $22.85 and BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited divested its stake of 5% in the company.

Fonterra Shareholders Fund soared 5.9% to $4.98 after the New Zealand-focused unit trust reported revenues in the year ending in July declined 4% from a year to NZ$18.85 billion.

Net profit in the year surged 182.7% to NZ$506 million compared to NZ$179 million and diluted earnings per share jumped to NZ$0.29 cents from NZ$0.10 cents.

The company said total sales volumes increased 9% at 4.3 million metric tons.

Sedgman Limited jumped 3.5% to 89 cents after the resources solutions provider and Civmec secured a contract with BHP Billiton worth about $145 million to provide civil, structural, electrical and commissioning works at its Pilbara iron ore mine of Western Australia.

Santos Ltd slipped 0.6% to $4.82 after the oil and gas producer estimated first cargo shipment of liquefied natural gas from its flagship project on country''s east coast to Asian customers within weeks after the commencement of operation.

The oil and gas producer will produce 7.8 million metric tons of LNG per year upon fully operational.