It was another spectacular day for investors with the local sharemarket building on yesterday's relief rally.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) up 1.8% to 5,112 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) up 1.7% to 5,144 points
- AUD/USD at US 70.57 cents
- Iron Ore at US$56.32 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,113.91 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$48.76 a barrel
Local shares continued to rebound strongly on the back of a strong session for international equity markets overnight, and stronger-than-expected manufacturing data from China.
It was the nation's biggest banks that led the charge. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) rose 1.6% after it announced a new CEO to replace Mike Smith in 2016. The bank's three major rivals gained between 1.8% and 2.3%.
Most other blue-chip companies also recorded gains today. Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) was up 1.8%, BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) gained 2.1% and Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) jumped 2.7%.
OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) was the best performing stock for the day, lifting 19.3%. Skilled Group Ltd. (ASX: SKE) was at the under end of the spectrum, losing 4.4%.
Here are Thursday's top stories:
- Australia's housing market slows as investors face even higher rates
- Why fully-franked dividends are better than cash
- XERO FPO NZ (ASX: XRO) hit 100,000 subscribers in the United Kingdom
- OZ Minerals surges on takeover speculation
- What you need to know from 1-Page Ltd's (ASX: 1PG) half-year report
- Link Group IPO: Overpriced and headed for a fall
