Local stocks bounce back but miners still down

The Aussie market bounced back from early session weakness in the afternoon to end the day at the highs.

“Financial and energy stocks led the charge into the close, helping the index to its second consecutive positive close,” said Chris Conway, Head of Research at Australian Stock Report.

According to Conway, Santos (STO) led gains amongst the oilers, adding 1.6%, while Origin (ORG) finished 1% higher.

“The big banks all turned positive late in the session,” Conway said. National Australia Bank (NAB) was the best performer, putting on 1.02%. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) was up 1%, ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) 0.98% and Westpac (WBC) 0.56%.

However, “It wasn't all good news. The mining sector ended in the negative territory on the back of big falls in commodity prices, which is now down to multi-year lows in overnight trade,” Conway said.

Fortescue (FMG) was the hardest hit, shedding 3.15% while Rio Tinto (RIO) lost 2.7%. BHP Billiton (BHP) dropped 2.9% to close the session on a new seven-year low.

On the day the ASX 200 added 15 points (0.3%) to settle at 5133.