Announcement posted by de2 Communications 02 Mar 2016
“The broad based gains came amid strong leads from the overnight session and a better-than-expected GDP read,” said Chris Conway, head of research at Australian Stock Report.
“Financials, energy and mining plays led the charge,” he added.
The big banks had a particularly strong day. ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) the best of the lot, surging 4.5%. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) finished up 3.5%, Westpac Bank (WBC) 4.1% and National Australia Bank (NAB) 3.5%.
Among the oil companies, Woodside (WPL) was the clear standout, jumping 5.1%. Santos (STO) put on 5% while Oil Search (OSH) added 2.8%.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton (BHP) advanced 4.4%, rival Rio Tinto (RIO) added 4.7% while little brother Fortescue (FMG) put on 3.7%.
The gold miners weren't as lucky, after the precious metal sunk overnight amid the risk-on environment. Newcrest Mining (NCM) dived 6.2% while Northern Star (NST) and Evolution Mining (EVN) were both crushed 7.4%.
In other news, Mesoblast Limited (MSB) was the biggest winner in the 200 jumping an impressive 28%.
On the day, the ASX 200 added 99 points (+2%) to settle at 5021.
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