RSS Feed
April 2nd, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Posted
Gains from food and finances companies have pushed the Australian share market higher on the first day of trading after the Easter long weekend.
The All Ordinaries Index closed up 16 points to 4,996 and the ASX 200 gained 19 points to 4,986.
Woolworths led the way for the staples sector, ending the day 1.7 per cent higher.
Coles’s parent company Wesfarmers gained 1.3 per cent and food manufacturer Goodman Fielder also rose by 0.7 per cent.
The Commonwealth led the way for the banks, closing 1.4 per cent higher at the end of trade.
ANZ rose 1 per cent, Westpac 0.9 per cent and the NAB 0.4 per cent.
Qantas rose 2.5 per cent higher in its first session of trade since its codeshare flights with Emirates were launched.
The mining sector held the market back from stronger gains; Rio Tinto lost 1.2 per cent and there were some bigger falls for iron ore firms.
Mount Gibson dropped 4.8 per cent, Atlas Iron fell 4.5 per cent and Fortescue ended 3.6 per cent lower.
BHP Billiton limited its losses to 0.1 per cent while Telstra also dragged on the market as it slipped 0.7 per cent.
The share market’s gains were amplified 90 minutes before the close when the Reserve Bank announced it was again keeping the official cash rate on hold at 3 per cent.
Economists were not surprised by the move and many are now predicting the RBA will leave the cash rate on hold throughout 2013.
The announcement put more pressure on the consumer banks though, with the Housing Industry Association and Retailers Association calling on them to cut their mortgage rates independently of the RBA.
The Australian dollar also went higher after the Reserve board’s decision was handed down.
About 5pm (AEDT) it was buying around 104.59 US cents, 97.04 Japanese yen, 81.35 euro cents, 68.68 British pence and 124.5 New Zealand cents.
West Texas intermediate crude oil was worth $US97.07 per barrel, Tapis crude in Singapore was trading around $US115.99 cents a barrel and spot gold was trading around $US1,601.96 per ounce.
Topics:
markets,
business-economics-and-finance,
currency,
money-and-monetary-policy,
australia
Source Article from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-02/share-market-gains-as-rates-remain-on-hold/4605928
Views: 0
Posted in 
