Resources drive market to new high
THE Australian share market has notched up its longest winning streak in two years as it eyes off a new decade high.
The local bourse yesterday fended off a poor day from the under-siege banking sector to notch up its sixth week of consecutive growth.
Despite advice giant AMP plummeting another 5.8 per cent to its lowest point in six years, a buoyant resource sector kept the market within striking distance of a new postglobal-financial-crisis high.
The latest surge in energy and mining stocks came as Bank of America Merrill Lynch said oil could hit $US100 a barrel in the wake of US President Donald Trump reimposing sanctions on Iran.
The ASX 200 closed down 0.1 per cent yesterday at 6116.2 points. But the fall did not stop it from gaining about 1 per cent for the week, completing its longest winning weekly streak since April 2016.
Its latest run added about $108 billion to the value of the index, which tracks the nation’s 200 largest listed companies, since the start of April.
Steep falls by banking and financial bluechips have not been enough to outweigh healthy gains by mining majors, and oil and gas producers.
In the same period, the Commonwealth Bank has fallen 2.7 per cent, losing $3 billion in value.
More than offsetting trouble in the financial sector has been big miners Rio Tinto — which has had a 19.8 per cent jump in its share price since the start of April — Fortescue Metals which is up 15.8 per cent, and BHP Billiton which has added 15.5 per cent.
Oil and gas producer Woodside has gained close to 14 per cent while Origin Energy is up more than 11 per cent.
Morgans senior client adviser Bill Chatterton said BHP Billiton was benefiting from the rise in global oil prices, while a strong showing from iron ore had boosted the resources giant and its rival, Rio Tinto.
A late pullback in trading yesterday meant the market failed to breach the 6135-point barrier which would have taken it to its highest point since mid-2008 when the global financial crisis was gathering pace.