A strong lead from international markets saw Aussie shares surge to finish more than 2% above the line on Monday. Gains were widespread with all sectors other than telecommunications and IT in the black.
Wall Street jumped 3% overnight on the back of stronger than expected housing data and earnings reports.
Meanwhile, the Indian sharemarket surged 17% following the results of elections in that country.
At the close, the All Ords was up 79.0 to 3,800.6 and the ASX/200 rose 81.7 to 3,817.3. Over 1.8 billion shares, or $3.7 billion had changed hands.
Banks and Financials jumped 2.6%. Among the big 4 banks, Westpac set the high water mark, climbing 2.8%. NAB wasn’t far behind putting on 2.5%, while CBA and ANZ added 1.8% each.
Investment bank Macquarie Group was 2% above the line.
The major insurers all gained ground. QBE, AXA Asia Pacific and Suncorp-Metway climbed 4.1%, 4.7% and 3.5%.
Challenger Financial Services Group jumped 5.9%.
Rio Tinto added 4.3% and BHP Billiton rose 2.9%, to help the broader Materials and Resources sector surge 2.6%.
Fortescue fell away in afternoon trade after a strong morning to finish up 1.2%, while Sims Metal gained 5%. OZ Minerals spiked 7.9%.
Steelmakers Bluescope and OneSteel climbed 1.5% and 3.4%.
Coal producer Macarthur Coal was 7.4% dearer by the close.
New Zealand based Fletcher Building was unable to capitalise on the positive housing data out of the US, losing 1.2%. Rivals James Hardie and Boral added 1.2% and 2.4% respectively.
In a reversal of yesterday’s pattern, gold miners Lihir Gold and Newcrest were in the red, sinking 2.6% and 1%.
Energy stocks gained 2.8%. In another broad reversal of yesterday’s fortunes, most stocks improved with the notable exception of Energy Resources Australia, which spent most of the day below the line before ending flat.
Sector heavyweight Woodside was up 3.7%, while Santos and Oil Search rose 3.9% and 5.4% respectively.
Origin edged 0.9% lower.
Oilfield engineering company WorleyParsons returned to the black, up 4.5%, while Linc Energy surged 9.3%.
Industrials rose 2.3%. Qantas added 4.7%. Brambles and Toll rose 1% and 1.9% respectively, while Leighton was flat.
Seek gained 3.4%, while Macquarie satellites, Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Macquarie Airports put on 2.9% and 2.5% respectively.
Consumer Staples was up 1% following gains of 1.7% for Woolworths and 1.9% for Wesfarmers.
Beverage makers Coca-Cola Amatil and Lion Nathan were 1.1% and 0.4% above the line, while Foster’s drifted 1.6% lower.
Consumer Discretionary was the best performing sector with a 3.3% rise. Retailers Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and David Jones spiked 5.8%, 4.9% and 5% respectively.
Media stocks were also popular with investors with Newscorp and Fairfax up 4% and 4.9% respectively.
Crown added 5.7%, despite reports it was being sued for $35 million by a disgruntled gambler.
A leap of 3.6% by Westfield helped Property Trusts to add 2.6%. Stockland and Dexus added 1.4% and 3%, while Mirvac dropped 3.4%.
Healthcare added a relatively modest 0.2%. Novogen surged 75.2%, though was not able to add much against a 0.9% drop in CSL.
Utilities rose 0.8%, with AGL Energy up 0.5%.
Telecommunications was 0.4% below the line at lunch, on the back of a 0.6% drop in Telstra after the new CEO David Thodey took the helm from Sol Trujillo.
Around the region, the Nikkei 225 gained 251.6 to 9,290.3, the Straits Times Index was up 75.5 to 2,252.4 and the NZSE50 edged 12.9 higher to 2,790.8. The Hang Seng jumped 515.8 to 17,538.7.
Spot gold was trading at US$921.70 per ounce and the Aussie was buying US$0.7665.
Elders downgrades guidance
Elders Limited (ELD) revised its earnings expectations downwards to underlying profit after tax of $7m to $17m for the second half and a full year loss of $15m to $5m. The company cited the impact of sharply reduced prices and buyer uncertainty on farm supply markets and of late breaking season in Western Australia for the downgrade.
At the end of the day, Elders shares were down 3.5c to 33c.
Goodman signs $300m finance facility
Goodman Group (GMG) announced the signing of a new $300m finance facility, which it said would provide the company with sufficient liquidity to repay all 2009 debt expiries. Underpinned by Macquarie Bank, the facility expires in nine months on 20 February 2010 and is extendable for a further 15 months.
At the close, Goodman Group shares were down 5c to 23.5c.
Hastie announces $77m capital raising
Hastie Group Limited (HST) was in trading halt due to the announcement of a $77m capital raising through an institutional entitlement offer and institutional placement. The company said the funds would be used to reduce net debt and provide increased headroom under debt covenants.
Hastie Group shares were halted at $1.485.
NRW reduces full-year guidance
NRW Holdings Limited (NWH) has reduced its full-year profit guidance to be in the range of $30-$35m. The company said the figure was based on revenue of $510-$515m.
At the bell, NRW shares were down 10.5c to 78c.
APN looks to raise $99m
APN News & Media launched a $99m equity raising with the aim of reducing debt and strengthening its balance sheet. In addition, the company announced it would not be paying an interim dividend for FY09.
At the end of trading, APN shares were halted at $1.19.
Mincor reports potential nickel discovery
Mincor Resources shares jumped 20% by mid-afternoon after saying it had discovered a highgrade nickel sulphide intersection below its Mariners Nickel Mine near Kambalda in Western Australia. The company said this had the potential a major new ore find at depth.
At the close, Mincor shares were up 25.5c to $1.31.
Karoon Gas forced to abandon well
Karoon Gas shares slumped 15% by mid-afternoon after the company announced preparations were underway to plug and abandon the Poseidon-1 well in the Timor Sea, despite it being recognised as a significant gas discovery. The oil and gas explorer said the decision followed the loss of a key piece of equipment in the well, which made it impossible to carry out planned production tests.
At the bell, Karoon shares were down 87c to $5.91.
Ausenco expecting profit to drop by 25% in 2009
Ausenco said the company was expecting a post-tax profit of between $40m and $43m, on the back of revenue of $475m to $525m for 2009. The engineering and construction company, by comparison, posted $56.3 million profit in 2008.
At the end of the day, Ausenco shares were down 2c to $3.36.
