The ASX pared back some of its late gains, but still ended the day slightly higher.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) up 0.1% to 5,126 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) flat at 5,182 points
- AUD/USD at US 71.36 cents
- Iron Ore at US$48.58 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,087.46 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$46.01 a barrel
Local investors were encouraged by strong jobs numbers today, aiding the market to a slight gain.
The numbers, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showed the number of people employed increased by 58,600 during October 2015 with the unemployment rate falling to 5.9%, down from 6.2%.
The banks provided the most support – particularly Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) which rose 1.8%. The bank's three rivals rose between 0.7% and 1.6% each.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), on the other hand, continued to drag on the overall market, as did Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW). The trio fell between 0.2% and 1.6% with BHP declining the most as the fallout from its Brazilian mine collapse continued.
Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU) was the standout performer for the day, lifting 5%. Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ) also lifted strongly, up 4%.
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) wasn't so lucky. The shares plummeted 27.2% after they emerged from a trading halt on a shortfall in the take-up by institutional investors of its heavily discounted share offer.
Here are Thursday's top stories:
