Australian Stock Report Market Wrap Up: Local shares stage turnaround but still lower on the day
Announcement posted by de2 Communications 02 May 2016
SYDNEY - 2 MAY 2016: Local shares staged a turnaround in the afternoon but fell short of finishing higher.
“The bulls came roaring back in the afternoon and, if the session had been allowed to run longer, might have even pushed the market into the green,” said Chris Conway, head of research at the Australian Stock Report.
“It wasn't to be however, with modest gains in all sectors unable to overcome heavy weakness in the banks,” he added.
That was due to Westpac's (WBC) latest earnings numbers which underwhelmed the market. On the day WBC shed 3.5%.
It was the worst of the big four, but the remaining three were all off between 2% and 2.2%.
On the other side of the ledger, materials plays were the best performers, with BHP Billiton (BHP) adding 1.2%, Rio Tinto (RIO) putting on 1.7%.
Gold plays also shone bright, with Newcrest (NCM) jumping 4.6%, ably supported by Northern Star (NST) and Evolution Mining (EVN) which surged 5.2% and 9.7% respectively.
Strong gains were also recorded in the telco space, with Telstra (TLS) the clear winner, adding 2.8%.
On the day the ASX 200 shed nine points (-0.2%) to settle at 5243.
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