Australian Stock Report Market Wrap Up: Aussie shares record second day of gains

SYDNEY: 19 January 2016 - The Aussie sharemarket recorded its second winning session today, rallying into the close. The winning session came on the back of as-expected Chinese GDP data.

“Basically, the absence of further bad news out of China allowed the index to build on early gains.,” said Chris Conway, Head of Research at the Australian Stock Report.

The miners performed admirably, with BHP Billiton (BHP) leading the charge, up 0.5%. Rio Tinto (RIO) added 0.3% while Fortescue (FMG) bucked the broader trend, shedding 1.3%.

However, Conway pointed out that Energy plays failed to impress, despite a lift in Brent crude prices during Asian trade. Oil Search (OSH) was the worst of the lot, losing 4.2%. Santos (STO) added 2.3% while Woodside (WPL) shed 1%.

The big four banks all posted gains, with National Australia Bank (NAB) the best in show, gaining 1.4%. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) finished up 1%, Westpac Bank (WBC) 0.9% and ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) 0.5%.

The gold sub-sector enjoyed a day in the sun with the Evolution Mining (EVN) the best performer, jumping 6.4%. Among the losers, Woolworths (WOW) and Wesfarmers Limited (WES) both retreated from yesterday's gains, dropping 1.6% and 1.4% respectively.

On the day the ASX 200 added 44 points (+1%) to settle marginally above the psychologically key 4900-level, at 4903 - off a low of 4842.