Australian Stock Market Report –Afternoon December 18, 2014

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York July 14, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY)

 The local sharemarket has finished firmly in the black, following a strong lead from European and US markets. The S&P 500 enjoyed its best one day gain in a year, after the US Federal Reserve signalled it was on track to raise interest rates next year - reinforcing the strength of the US economy. That positive lead helped the All Ords finish up 1 percent to 5,189.

 The Energy sector was again the best performer, rallying 3.3 percent - adding to yesterday's 3 percent surge. Santos (STO) jumped 5.0 percent to $7.96, while Woodside Petroleum (WPL) rose by 3.1 percent to $36.60.

 Mining stocks also improved, extending yesterday's 0.9 percent gain to close up 2.0 percent. BHP Billiton (BHP) improved by 1.9 percent to $28.04, while Fortescue Metals (FMG) soared 6.4 percent to $2.50.

 Flight Centre (FLT) shares though plunged 9 percent to $31.87 after the firm issued a profit downgrade. FLT now expects FY profit before tax of between $360-390 million. Flight Centre had previously estimated profit would grow to between $395-405 million.

 Boral (BLD) finished up 1.8 percent to $5.11 - while CSR (CSR) firmed by 3.1 percent to $3.63 - after the two firms were given the go-ahead to set up a clay bricks joint venture. The ACCC says it doesn't believe the move will substantially lessen competition.

 Shares in Elders (ELD) - which held its AGM today - finished up 2.4 percent to 21.5 cents. The agribusiness says it's making progress in relation to its eight-point strategic plan, which was announced in July. Under the plan, Elders is hoping to achieve $60 million in earnings before interest and tax by fiscal 2017, and a 20 per cent return on capital.

 In economic news household wealth stood at a record $7,718.5 billion at the end of September, up $122.5 billion or 1.6 percent over the quarter. Australia's population grew by 68,400 people over the June quarter to 23,490,700. Annual population growth eased from 1.69 percent to 1.59 percent.

 The Aussie dollar has improved against the greenback, buying 81.3 US cents

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