Sharemarket News: 08 Mar 2010
Gains by resource stocks helped lift the main share index to its biggest weekly advance since Christmas...
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At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had risen 16.7 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4763.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 15.8 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 4773.4 points.
For the week, the ASX 200 added 2.7 per cent, extending the weekly gains to four consecutive weeks, and rising the most since the week before Christmas.
Among the major sub-indexes, financial stocks rose 0.2 per cent for the day, while energy stocks added 0.4 per cent and materials rose 0.5 per cent.
IG Markets analyst Ben Potter said materials and energy stocks helped the market higher.
‘‘The positive momentum in resource stocks continued unabated, with both the diversified miners and the pure plays posting impressive gains,’’ he said.
‘‘Ahead of nonfarm payrolls in the US, it was not surprising to see a little bit of investor caution.’’
BHP Billiton was up 22 cents at $42.50 and Rio Tinto had added 61 cents to $75.01.
Ballarat mine closure
The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US1,134.00 per fine ounce at 1637 AEDT, down $US2.50 from yesterday's closing price of $US1,136.50.
Gold miner Lihir Gold said it had agreed to sell its Ballarat mine in Victoria to junior explorer Castlemaine Goldfields for $4.5 million cash and royalties capped at $50 million.
Lihir will place the poorly performing operation on care and maintenance.Shares in Lihir were down three cents at $2.91, while Castlemaine shares were in a trading halt and last traded at four cents.
Gold miner Newcrest was up 47 cents, or 1.4 per cent, at $33.97.
In other headlines, Fortescue Metals Group, Aquila Resources and a Chinese heavyweight have submitted their concept plan for a multi-billion-dollar new port development in Western Australia.
Shares in Fortescue were down 10 cents to $4.78 and Aquila shares added 33 cents, or 3.23 per cent, to $10.55.
Shares in plaintiff law firm Slater and Gordon were up four cents, or 2.5 per cent, to $1.64 after it won an action against global pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co.
Retailers, energy
Among retail stocks, Coles owner Wesfarmers was down 24 cents to $32.71 and Woolworths put on 25 cents to $28.05.
In the energy sector, Woodside was 23 cents firmer at $44.52, Santos inched three cents higher to $13.43 and Oil Search gave up four cents to $5.24.
The top traded stock by volume was Anteo Diagnostics, with 449.88 million shares worth $31.28 million changing hands.
Anteo's stock was up 1.4 cents, or 27.45 per cent, to 6.5 cents.
Preliminary national turnover was 2.52 billion shares worth $5.24 billion, with 568 stocks up, 447 down and 388 unchanged.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the March share price index contract was 27 points higher at 4,775 points, on volume of 20,351 contracts.
SOURCE: aap
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