Australian exchanges
SYDNEY: THE Australian share market has closed barely higher, falling back from a surge yesterday in the wake of Scott Morrison’s selection as the nation’s next prime minister.
After a rollercoaster day, the benchmark S&P/ ASX200 closed a slim 2.9 points, or 0.05%, higher at 6247.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 2.4 points, or 0.04%, lower at 6357.9 points.
The Australian dollar has been buoyed by the resolution of political uncertainty and was at US72.84c at 1700 AEST, down from US72.96c on Thursday but recovered from an intraday low around US72.39c.
A week of turmoil in Canberra, as nowformer Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull overcame an early challenge from Peter Dutton only to fall in a party room vote yesterday, overshadowed the busiest week of reporting season and weighed on investor sentiment.
The S&P/ASX200 ended the week down 1.5%. Commsec market analyst James Tao said the eventual change of prime minister ended a week of uncertainty and allowed the share market and the Aussie dollar to recover.
On the ASX, the market was supported by health stocks with CSL rising 2.9% to a new record of $A224.43 ($NZ245.82), while Mayne Pharma Group hit a near18month peak of $A1.11, up 5.7% after showing improved secondhalf trading in its fullyear results.
Westpac weighed on the market after it announced in a thirdquarter update that its net interest margin is down about 11 basis points due mostly to higher funding costs.
Westpac lost A69c, or 2.4%, to close at $A27.66 and CBA was the only big four bank to cling to positive territory, up 0.2% at $A70.89.
In company results, Medibank Private dropped 2.2% to $A3.10 after posting a 1% fall in annual net profit and flagging a flat outlook for insurance market growth.
Brambles hit a 20month high, up 6.4% to $A10.60, after showing a lift in underlying fullyear profit and announcing the demerger and possible sale of its IFCO reusable plastic containers business.
Star Entertainment Group added A30c, or 6%, to $A5.30 after its fullyear normalised results were swelled by returning Chinese high rollers.