The Australian market ended Thursday's trading session in positive territory, taking cues from Wall Street where the major averages ended the trading session in positive territory with solid gains as concerns about economic recovery eased slightly. Strong demand from Portugese bonds helped ease debt concerns in Europe. Back home, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that jobless rate unexpectedly declined to 5.1% in August from 5.3% in July. Banks and resource stocks led the gains as optimism seems to be returning to the market on sustaining global economic recovery, albeit at a relatively slower pace than projected earlier.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index gained 45.00 points, or 0.99%, and closed at 4,582 points, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,621, representing a gain of 43.00 points, or 0.94%.
On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that unemployment rate in the country declined to a seasonally adjusted 5.1% in August, a decline of 0.2% from 5.3% reported for July. Most economists had forecast a decrease of 0.1% to 5.2% for the month. The report further revealed that the number of employed Australians increased by 30,900 in August. The rise in employment was driven by an increase in full-time employment, which was up 53,100, while part-time employment decreased by 22.100 people. The number of unemployed Australians decreased by 22,500 to 607,700.
Light sweet crude oil futures for October delivery ended at $74.79 a barrel in electronic trading, up $0.12 per barrel from previous close at $74.67 a barrel in New York on Wednesday.
Banking shares led the gains as concerns about European banks as well as debt eased considerably following strong demand for Portugal's bonds issue. ANZ Bank advanced 1.15%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia gained 1.37%, National Australia Bank climbed 3.73% and Westpac Banking increased 1.23%. Investment banker Macquarie Group was up by 1.70%.
Mining and metal stocks also ended in positive territory. BHP Billiton added 0.71%, Rio Tinto advanced 0.63%, Fortescue Metals gained 0.83%, Gindalbie Metals rose 0.55%, Iluka Resources climbed 3.13%, Mincor Resources increased by 1.12%, Murchison Metals surged by 5.57% and Oz Minerals edged up by 0.37%.
Insurance company AXA Pacific declined the most following ACCC's denial of permission for the proposed merger with National Australia Bank. The stock plunged 6.62%.
Mixed trading was witnessed among oil related stocks. Santos Ltd declined 6.98% after the company announced that it would sell 15% stake in Gladstone LNG project to Total SA for $650 million. Among the other energy related stocks, Woodside Petroleum added 0.52%, ROC Oil Ltd climbed 2.67%, Origin Energy edged up 0.07% and Oil Search Ltd gained 1.02%.
In the U.S., stocks rose by solid margins on Wednesday amid some relief buying following news of continued, albeit slower, U.S. economic recovery as seen by the Federal Reserve, and solid demand for Portugal's bond offerings. The major averages saw considerable volatility in late-session dealing but still managed to close on the upside. The Dow gained 46.32 points or 0.4% to end at 10,387, the Nasdaq advanced by 19.98 points or 0.9% to 2,229 and the S&P 500 rose by 7.03 points or 0.6% to 1,099.
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