Local shares rose today, thanks in large part to a rising oil price and a strong lead set by Wall Street overnight. Meanwhile, gold miners were mixed although the sector as a whole held up better than it did on Wednesday.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) up 0.6% to 5,483 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) up 0.5% to 5,564 points
- AUD/USD at US 76 cents
- Iron Ore at US$55.86 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,265.02 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$51.56 a barrel
St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) fell 4.5% and EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) dropped 4.3%. Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) also fell 0.5%.
The telcos caused headaches among investors again today. Vocus Communications Limited (ASX: VOC) fell 1.2% (although it did trade much lower than that through the session) on supposed "accounting concerns" cited by brokers at CLSA.
TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) also traded lower during the session but ended the day 1.4% higher, while Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) dropped 1.8%.
Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE) fell 3% on an earnings downgrade. Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC) recovered 2.4% after yesterday's dip.
There were a number of shares that produced strong returns today. Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) was one such company, rising 12.1%. Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) also rose 0.4% while Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) gained 9.3%.
Energy shares were strong, as well. Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) gained 3.6% while BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) jumped 1.2%.
Here are Thursday's top stories:
- These are the 5 best-performing shares of the last month
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd shares jump on acquisition news, should you invest?
- This is why Estia Health Ltd shares are getting crushed again
- Why these 4 shares are getting hammered today
- Why Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd shares are rocketing higher
- Are these two telcos oversold?
