Shares up strongly but the longer trend is flat
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday March 31, 2011
THE sharemarket jumped sharply yesterday, continuing a strong recovery since Japan's earthquake prompted heavy falls this month.The ASX200 rose 66.4 points (1.4 per cent) to 4822.2 and the broader All Ordinaries increased 61.5 points (1.27 per cent) to 4912.7.The ASX200 has risen 6.4 per cent since March 15 after the slump after the disasters in Japan.The EL&C Baillieu director Richard Morrow said sector leaders, such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Newcrest Mining, led the rises. Despite the rises of the past fortnight, he added, equities had been flat for a year."Over the last 12 months, it's done nothing and this month it's done nothing, so it's pretty much continuing on in a fairly zero-sum game," he said. "I guess that reflects insecurity among corporates about taxation. Certainly [concern about a] carbon tax is overhanging the market."The Aussie dollar is extremely strong ... and that's damaging earnings for exporters like miners and what's left of Australian manufacturing competing against importers."The price of gold in Sydney was $US1420.22 an ounce, down US25€š. Australia's biggest gold miner, Newcrest, closed $1.41, or 3.66 per cent, higher at $39.93.Among other big movers in gold, Gold One International rose 10.5 per cent to 42€š, and Kentor Gold gained 7.7 per cent to 14€š.Among mining stocks, BHP Billiton closed 91€š, or 2.04 per cent, higher at $45.61, and Rio Tinto added $2 to $84.28.The copper-gold miner Sandfire Resources said it was on track to complete debt funding arrangements for its $400 million DeGrussa copper and gold project in Western Australia in the June quarter. Its shares rose 6€š to $7.Qantas said it would cut domestic and international capacity, retire aircraft early and cut management positions in response to higher fuel prices and the natural disasters in New Zealand, Queensland and Japan. Qantas closed 4€š higher at $2.19.Myer said sales improved in February, and the reopening of its Melbourne CBD store would drive $300 million in sales next year. The shares rose 3€š to $3.19.The big banks were firmer. ANZ rose 37€š to $23.88, National Australia Bank 28€š to $25.63, Westpac 18€š to $24.27, and Commonwealth 69€š to $52.53.AAP
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald