Australian 3-Day Rally Halts, Dollar Firms

123jump.com Staff
18 Sep, 2009
New York City

Australian stocks edged lower after three days of gains as resource stocks firmed in the week. Crude oil futures have surged more than 27% in the year and gold has one-year high and silver is trading at multi-year high. Retailers and banks generally closed higher.

[R]8:00 AM Sydney, Australia – Australian stocks edged lower after three days of gains as resource stocks firmed in the week. Crude oil futures have surged more than 27% in the year and gold has one-year high and silver is trading at multi-year high. Retailers and banks generally closed higher. The Australian dollar hovered near 13-month high.[/R]

Resource stocks led the market rise in Australia and Asia as optimistic investors pin their hopes on the stable economic conditions in the U.S. Ahead of G-20 summit next week in the U.S., investors are hoping that government leaders will reassure world investors that economic stimulus will not be removed prematurely.

ASX 200 index in Australia decreased 21.70 or 0.46% to 4,693.20 and of the stocks in the index, 70 increased, 107 declined and 23 were unchanged. In trading, 3.47 shares changed hands worth A$7.96 billion.

Australian dollar closed just under 87 U.S cents and currency traders are looking for the dollar to strengthen to between 89 and 91 cents.

Market Movers

BHP Billiton plc closed unchanged at A$25.63 after the diversified natural resources company said it has reached agreement with the NSW Government over future long term access to the Newcastle Port for coal shipment. The agreement will provide a measure of certainty to coal exporters that they can ship their products over the long term.

Banks rebounded from the morning decline with Westpac increasing 4 cents to A$24.91, National Australian Bank adding 1% to A$29.86 and ANZ edging up 1.3% to A$23.18.

Commonwealth Property Office Fund the real estate investment trust decreased 5.5% to A$0.85.

Flight Centre Limited the travel agency group declined 4.4% to A$14.00.

GPT Group rose 7.0% to A$0.68.

Gold miners declined after the commodity in Sydney trading declined $10.84 to $1,011.18. Newmont Mining decreased 20 cents to A$5.25, Newcrest Mining fell 3% to A$34.25 and Lihir Gold dropped 5% to A$5.25.

Lynas Corporation Limited the mineral exploration company increased 7.8% to A$0.82.

Pacific Brands Limited the underwear maker closed unchanged at A$1.23.

Qantas Airways Limited added 3.7% to A$2.78 after the airline was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and separately the group denied that its is looking to partner with other airlines to acquire a stake in JAL.

St Barbara Limited the mining and sale of gold fell 4.7% to A$0.30.

Retailers traded mixed with Wesfarmers and David Jones edged slightly higher and Woolworths trading 0.5% lower.

ASX Movers

Commonwealth Property Office Fund led the decliners in the S&P ASX 200 index with a loss of 5.5% followed by losses in St Barbara Limited of 4.7%, in Flight Centre Limited of 4.4%, in Macquarie Media Group of 3.9% and in Dominion Mining Limited of 3.9%.

Lynas Corporation Limited led gainers in the S&P ASX 200 index with a rise of 7.8% followed by gains in GPT Group 7.0%, in Gunns Limited of 6.0% and in FKP Property Group of 5.9%.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed lower 73.26 or 0.70% to 10,370.54, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased 145.06 or 0.67% to 21,623.45 and CSI 300 index in China lower 120.41 or 3.63% to 3,199.69. ASX 200 index in Australia decreased 21.70 or 0.46% to 4,693.20. The FTSE Bursa KL Composite index in Malaysia closed higher 2.40 or 0.20% to 1,221.20.

The Kospi Index in South Korea increased 4.24 or 0.25% to close at 1,699.71. SET index in Thailand closed higher 4.44 or 0.63% to 713.67 and JSE Index in Indonesia increased 17.63 or 0.72% to 2,456.99. The Sensex index in India increased 30.19 or 0.18% to 16,741.30.