The local market closed higher today, continuing what was a strong rally for the market this week.
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) up 0.3% to 5,256 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) up 0.2% to 5,305 points
- AUD/USD at US 71.95 cents
- Iron Ore at US$45.44 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,083.57 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$44.30 a barrel
A fall in commodity prices overnight weighed on the local stock market with the ASX taking somewhat of a breather after three days of solid gains, but still closing 0.3% higher.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) were hit especially hard, falling between 2.3% and 4.4%. Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) also plunged 11.6%, but BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) managed to recover some more after yesterday's AGM, rising 0.4%.
It was a different story for the gold miners after the gold price rose overnight. Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) gained 2.7% and 2.4% respectively.
All four banks closed in the black as well. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) were the standouts, lifting 0.9% each.
Together with LNG Ltd, Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH) was the market's worst-performing Top 200 stock today, falling 12.1%, while InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC) was the best, rising 5.6%.
Here are Friday's top stories:
- Why the Slater & Gordon Limited share price crashed today
- Should you buy Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) at today's share price?
- What's happening to the Mobile Embrace Ltd share price?
- Why Myer Holdings Ltd's share price jumped today
- Why the Kathmandu Holdings Ltd share price soared today
- Should you buy Vocus Communications Limited at today's share price?
