Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 4-30-13

MARKET CLOSE REPORT
(4.30pm AEST)

The Australian sharemarket made it two straight days of gains, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rising by 1.2 per cent. US markets hit fresh record highs thanks in part to improved corporate earnings, while the financials led local stocks higher in Australia today.

ANZ Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Westpac (WBC) all hit all-time highs today which was more than enough to help our market substantially higher. On average, the big four have improved by 27.5 per cent since January 2013.

ANZ had its best day of the year after reporting a $3.2bn cash profit for the six months to 31 March. This was better than market forecasts while an 11 increase in its dividend to 73 cents per share was welcomed by investors. ANZ now has a payout ratio of 63 per cent of earnings. ANZ rose by 5.8 per cent. Australia's second biggest bank by market capitalisation, WBC will be issuing its profit results this Friday. It recently cracked through the $100bn market cap level and is expected to record a $3.3bn profit for the half by the market.

Australia's biggest telco and sixth largest company, Telstra (TLS) gained by 1 per cent and reached $5.00 per share for the first time since mid-August 2005. TLS's consistent 28 cents per share dividend each year has kept the telco enticing to investors.

The miners ended a touch higher as a sector but underperformed the broader market. BHP Billiton (BHP) rose by 0.5 per cent, while Rio Tinto (RIO) edged 0.79 per cent higher.

On the economic front, the number of loans outstanding in the Australian economy rose by 0.2 per cent in March. This is further proof that Aussies are still shying away from debt. The market is factoring in just a 40 per cent chance of a rate cut next Tuesday when the Reserve Bank meets next.

The Chinese sharemarkets were closed for the second day running today for national holidays. Tomorrow, markets in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and India will be closed for Labour Day holidays. The markets in most of the major European markets will also not be trading on Wednesday.

[Kick off your trading day with our newsletter]