It was another volatile day, but the Australian sharemarket ended the session in the black.
Here's a brief rundown:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO): up 0.3% at 5,040 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO): up 0.2% at 5,060 points
- AUD/USD: down 0.6% to US 69.70 cents
- Iron Ore: down 0.4% to US$56.50 a tonne, according to The Metal Bulletin
- Gold: at US$1,124.65 an ounce; Brent oil at US$58.18 a barrel
The ASX managed a slight recovery during today's session, although it was a different story for the week. The main bourse ended the week 4.2% lower, adding to the pain of August's 8.6% decline.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) both performed strongly, rising 1.5% and 1% respectively, with a number of other companies also generating plenty of interest.
M2 Group Ltd (ASX: MTU) was the biggest gainer from the ASX 200, rising 8.2%. Greencross Limited (ASX: GXL) and Senex Energy Ltd (ASX: SRX) also climbed 6.8% and 7.4% each.
Unfortunately, their gains were mostly offset by falls across the major banks. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) was the only major bank to end the day higher, rising 0.3%, while each of its peers fell between 0.4% and 0.8%.
Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Caltex Australia Limited (ASX:CTX) joined the banks in the red, falling 8%, 3.3% and 2.6%, respectively.
Here are Friday's top stories:
- The Australian dollar plunged below the US 70 cent mark once again. It's at the lowest level since the depths of the Global Financial Crisis.
- The S&P Dow Jones Indices has conducted its quarterly rebalance for the Australian sharemarket, with these 10 stocks earning a promotion
- Deutsche Bank has named five ASX companies to benefit from Queensland's economic growth, while our own Brendon Lau has added his 2 cents as well.
- Directors at Greencross have been active lately, scooping up shares while they're cheap.
- These five ASX stocks have surged more than 300% in the past year.
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