The local share market defied a fall on Wall Street overnight, aided by a strong performance from the banks after Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) delivered a market update this morning.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) up 0.3% to 5,552 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) up 0.2% to 5,636 points
- AUD/USD at US 76.33 cents
- Iron Ore at US$61.56 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,331.84 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$45.06 a barrel
ANZ's shares rallied 2.9% today, ending the session at $26.44. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) all followed, rising between 1.6% and 2.2%.
Meanwhile, Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) gained 0.7%, but Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) fell 1.4%. That came after the toll road operator reported its full-year earnings results.
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA), Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) and Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) all fell heavily at the open, but managed to recover most of their losses. In fact, REA Group and Cochlear closed just 1.1% and 2.8% lower, while Carsales ended the session 1.4% higher.
Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) was one of the market's best performers today, rising 6.6%. IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL), on the other hand, dropped 7.6%.
Here are Tuesday's top stories:
- Australia & New Zealand Banking Group profit dips, regulatory outlook toughens
- Cochlear Limited could be a bargain on today's share price weakness
- Where to from here for the Carsales.Com Ltd share price?
- How to find the next 10 bagger (Part I)
- Why investors dumped REA Group Limited shares today
- 3 things to watch when Telstra Corporation Ltd reports later this week
- GR Engineering Services Ltd share price soars on earnings update
