Bank rises hold up the bourse

AUSTRALIAN shares have finished stronger, with gains in financial, energy and health care stocks outweighing losses in the mining sector.

The benchmark ASX 200 index closed 32.4 points, or 0.5 per cent yesterday, to 6210.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 29.5 points, also 0.5 per cent, to 6302.8 points.

CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian said there was strong support for banking stocks, despite a sluggish start for the sector in the morning after Wall Street ended higher overnight.

The Commonwealth Bank rose 1.8 per cent to $73.97, National Australia Bank gained 1.2 per cent to $27.74, ANZ rose 0.9 per cent to $28.08 and Westpac added 0.7 per cent to $29.39.

The energy sector finished 0.9 per cent higher, thanks to strong gains in Caltex (up 1.5 per cent to $33.03) and Woodside Petroleum (up 0.9 per cent to $35.45).

Bucking the broader market was the materials sector, as commodity prices fell overnight on concerns about the economic impact of China’s trade dispute with the US, Shaw and Partners senior private client adviser Craig Sidney said. Iron ore dropped 0.7 per cent, and gold and copper fell to six and seven month lows, respectively.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell 1.6 per cent to $33.05 and 3 per cent to $80.80, respectively.