The local share market rose strongly this morning but pared back most of its gains as the day wore on. Still, it ended in the black with a strong rebound from around 2:00pm AEDT.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) up 0.4% to 5530 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) up 0.5% to 5626 points
- AUD/USD at US 76.88 cents
- Iron Ore at US$59.36 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,339.28 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$46.37 a barrel
Shares of Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) acted as a heavy drag on the broader market again today. The shares fell 1.3%, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) rising a mere 0.1%.
National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB), on the other hand, rose a more impressive 1.5%.
There were mixed results from the nation's other blue chip shares, as well. BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW), for instance, rose 2.1% and 1.3%, but Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) lost 1.1%.
Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN) produced a very strong earnings result today, which saw its shares rally 7.8%.
Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) also rose 11.8%, and Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) gained 5.9%.
Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) wasn't so lucky, shedding 4% for the session (although that is mostly due to going ex-dividend).
Here are Friday's top stories:
- Should you buy Baby Bunting Group Ltd for its incredible profit growth?
- Why the Australian dollar could climb above US80 cents
- How to find the next 10-bagger (Part III)
- 3 under the radar growth shares for your portfolio
- 4 top fully-franked dividend stocks for your SMSF
- Is Yowie Group Ltd a buy at today's share price?
