Australian Stock Report Market Wrap Up: Australian shares close higher after volatile session

“It was a very volatile session which saw the market up and down a roller-coaster ride, but it stood higher in the end,” said Chris Conway, head of research at the Australian Stock Report.

According to Conway, gains in consumer staples, materials, IT, and industrials were enough to eclipse weakness in energy, property trusts and the banks. 

Woolworths (WOW) and Wesfarmers (WES) added around 1.2% each, but it was Super Retail Group (SUL) which shone in the retail space, jumping 5.6% on their latest numbers. 

Recently smashed BHP Billiton (BHP) scraped a modest 0.2% gain, whilst Fortescue (FMG) was amongst the best performers in the materials space, adding 2.6%. 

The banks were mixed, Westpac (WBC) and National Australia Bank (NAB) added 1% and 1.3% respectively, whilst ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) lost 0.8% and 0.7%. Macquarie Group (MQG) slid 0.3% despite reporting a record profit. 

On the day the ASX 200 cobbled together a 13 point (+0.2%) gain.

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Australian Stock Report

http://www.australianstockreport.com.au/