Australian shares shoot higher today
Announcement posted by de2 Communications 20 Jul 2016
“Local bulls overcame an early wobble to finish within striking distance of 5500, with healthcare and consumer stocks the standouts,” said Chris Conway, Head of Research and Trading at Australian Stock Report.
Biotechnology giant CSL Limited (CSL)climbed 2.1%, and Ramsay Healthcare added 3.3%.
Consumer staples and discretionary sectors also added 1.5% each, with Woolworths (WOW) and Wesfarmers (WES) pacing the gains, adding 1.4% each. Their rival Metcash (MTS) also jumped 4% on the day.
According to Conway, in the discretionary space, standouts include Aristocrat Leisure (ALL) which tacked on 3.7% and Domino's (DMP) which advanced 2.2%.
Shares in the big four banks were also bought as the mood improved through the morning and into the afternoon.
Westpac (WBC) led all comers with a 1.2% gain, whilst Commonwealth Bank (CBA) tacked on 1%.
On the other hand, the biggest loser for the day was CIMIC Group (CIM) which tumbled 19%, as a trio of brokers downgraded the stock, citing last night's soft earnings update.
The miners were the other big losers, with BHP Billiton (BHP) off 2.9% and Rio Tinto (RIO) down 2%.
On the day the ASX 200 added 37 points (+0.7%) to settle at 5489.
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