Stocks close higher on miner strength

The local sharemarket staged a sharp turnaround, driven by gains in the miners, after a choppy day of trade.

The local sharemarket ended higher, driven by gains in the miners, after a choppy day of trade. Picture: Christian Gilles

The local share market staged a sharp turnaround in late trade as miners pushed the market higher, despite weakness in the iron ore price.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 11.2 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5,681.6 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index lifted 13.4 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 5,744.9 points.

“It looked like we were going to get a test of that bottom of the channel, but the turnaround that’s come as the rest of Asia has come online has been startling,” CMC Markets chief strategist Michael McCarthy said.

“I suspect that the end of the month and the end of the quarter are having an impact.

“That’s potentially why we’re seeing such large volumes and we’re seeing such good support for those miners despite weak commodity prices.”

BHP gained 0.78 per cent, ending the session at $25.78, while Rio Tinto rose 1.62 per cent to $66.53 and Fortescue was up 1.58 per cent to $5.14.

High oil prices saw the energy sector weaken. Woodside Petroleum fell 1.12 per cent to $29.10 while Origin Energy was down 0.27 per cent to $7.48. Santos was down 1.47 per cent to $4.02 at the close.

“It’s pretty clear that the elevated levels of the oil price are weighing on traders’ minds in particular,” Mr McCarthy said.

In financials, Commonwealth Bank rose 0.17 per cent higher to $75.25, while Westpac closed 0.65 per cent lower at $31.92. NAB was up 0.10 per cent, closing at $31.50, and ANZ was down 0.50 per cent, at $29.60, at the close.

Elsewhere, Ardent Leisure Group closed 0.83 per cent higher at $1.82 after Dr Gary Weiss was announced as incoming chairman, following a battle for control of the Dreamworld owner, and after current chair George Venardos agreed to step aside.

“I would like to acknowledge the dedication with which George has led the boards through an unprecedented period and thank him for agreeing, in the interests of all security holders, to an orderly transition,” Dr Weiss said in a statement to the ASX.

Telstra gained 0.29 per cent, closing at $3.49 after hitting a five-year-low on Wednesday.

Oroton shares were unchanged at 78c after the fashion and accessories retailer posted a heavy loss, plunging from a profit of $3.443 million in 2016 to a loss of $14.258m for the year.

The Australian dollar was down 0.15 per cent at US78.44c in late trade.