Miners lead ASX 200 to fresh high

Which companies have contributed to the market's climb?

Ryan Newman (TMFNewmy)

Ryan Newman (CFA) is the Director of Research of The Motley Fool Australia, and Portfolio Manager for the Pro and North Star services. Ryan’s interest in investing and stocks began at a young. His journey with The Motley Fool started first as a member but when the company first came to Australia he joined the team as one of our writers. Recognising his investing talent and passion, it wasn’t long before he was approached to join the investing team as a research analyst on Pro. Ryan is passionate about learning and continual development. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2022, and has completed his Bachelor of Accounting and his Graduate Certificate of Corporate Finance. Ryan loves spending time with his young family as well as non-fiction reading, catching the latest movies and following his sports team, the St Kilda Saints (AFL).

Published September 27, 2013 1:57 pm AEST

Australia's benchmark index, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO), has continued into its fourth consecutive day of gains today, reaching yet another five-year high following gains in the US overnight.

The Dow Jones closed higher for the first time in five days having gained 55.04 points or 0.36% which has helped the Australian market to climb to 5,314.3 – up from the previous five-year intraday high of 5,300.1 points.

Some analysts have suggested that the recent gains could also be attributed to the reinvestment of dividends back into the share market, whereby Goldman Sachs broker Richard Coppleson noted that $2.4 billion worth of dividends were received by shareholders last week whilst a further $6.3 billion has been paid this week. Another $6.08 billion is set to be received next week as well.

Whilst each of the banks started off trading in the black today, each are now in the red and acting as a drag on the market, leaving the gains to Australia's largest miners. BHP (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) have gained 0.1% and 0.3%, whilst Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) has delivered a more significant climb of 1%. The gains have been recognised after iron ore climbed US$1.10 per tonne to US$133.80 overnight.

Leighton Holdings (ASX: LEI) has also appreciated 3.2% whilst Atlas Iron (ASX: AGO) has risen 1.4%.

After yesterday's gains, ANZ (ASX: ANZ), NAB (ASX: NAB) and Westpac (ASX: WBC) are each down 0.3% whilst Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) has remained fairly flat, down 0.08%.

Foolish takeaway

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Motley Fool contributor Ryan Newman does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.

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