Australia’s sharemarket ended the week at a record high, despite a hit to commodities caused by a rising US dollar. Australia’s sharemarket closed at a record high on Friday, despite impacting entities caused by a rising US dollar. The S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 35 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7295.4, while the All Ordinaries rose 32.5 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7543.3.
At the close of the local session, the Australian dollars were fetching 76.6 US cents, and gold was selling at a spot price of $US1869 an ounce. “The ASX 200 has had a strong week and has broken through the psychological 7200 level to reach new all-time highs, and is now trading just shy of 7300,” Openmarkets chief executive Ivan Tchourilov said.
Mining stocks held the market back, with CommSec analyst Steve Daghlian saying an appreciation in the US dollar Thursday night hit commodity prices, including gold, aluminum, lead, copper, and nickel. “The reason that the market is not up more significantly is down to the mining sector (and) that is partly because commodity prices took quite a hit last night,” Mr. Daghlian said.
“This is partly due to a lift in the US dollar, which tends to push commodity prices back into the red.” ARB took out the top spot on the ASX200, jumping 6.3 percent, while the pull on commodities dented Silver Lake Resources, and it plummeted 8.2 percent to $1.73. Ramelius Resources tumbled 7.7 percent to $1.80, and Perseus Mining slipped 5.6 percent to $1.35.
Major miner BHP ended the session down 1.7 percent to $48.75, while Fortescue Metals finished 2 percent lower to $22.97. Rio Tinto appointed former WA treasurer Ben Wyatt to its board, marking him the first Indigenous director to sit in a leadership position within the significant company. Its stock, however, took a tumble and fell 1.9 percent to $124.62.
Banks surged after figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed mortgage commitments jumped 3.7 percent compared to March. Commonwealth Bank jumped 1.3 percent to $102.52, and Westpac rose 1.4 percent to $26.87. ANZ inched 1.5 percent higher to $29.20, and NAB edged 1.4 percent higher to $27.51, while regional incumbent Bendigo Bank was one of the ASX’s top performers, surging 5.1 percent to $10.89.
Discount retailer The Reject Shop slumped 6.3 percent to $5.92 after it warned Covid-19 lockdowns were still challenging its operations. “It should be noted that trading conditions remain unpredictable during June, particularly in light of the current Covid-19 lockdown in Melbourne and Covid-19 related restrictions in regional Victoria,” The Reject Shop said in a statement.
Travel stocks were still bruised from the ongoing Melbourne lockdown, with Qantas slipping 0.8 percent to $4.87 and Flight Centre 1.4 percent lower to $15.98. Origin Energy surged 5.4 percent to $4.72; rival AGL saw its stock value rise 1.85 percent to $8.82. Telstra jumped 1.7 percent to $3.88, while Afterpay closed 0.8 percent lower to $94.48. Wesfarmers rose 0.2 percent to $55.24, and Woolworths ended the session up 1 percent to $43.35.
