Australia & NZ stocks pop higher, on track for hefty monthly gains
31/10/2014 02:53
* NZ stocks up 2.8 pct in Oct, largest gain in 7 months
* Aussie shares up 4 pct this month
* Macquarie & ANZ post strong results
* 142 shares down, 45 shares up, 12 shares unchanged
(Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)
By Cecile Lefort and Gyles Beckford
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose
to a seven-week peak, while New Zealand stocks hit a fresh
record high on Friday, after encouraging U.S. growth data
boosted risk appetite, putting them on track for hefty gains
this month.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rallied 24 points to 5,500.6
by 0221 GMT, having climbed as far as 5,514.2, its highest since
mid-September. The benchmark has rebounded 4.1 percent this
month, following a near 6 percent tumble in September.
The move higher was underpinned by a rise on Wall Street on
Thursday following a strong reading on quarterly economic growth
and another round of upbeat earnings reports. .N
"The market was reasonably positive in America and what also
helped Australian stocks is that bond yields continued to fall
and there seems to be a positive correlation between these two
asset classes at the moment," said Damien Boey, an equity
strategist at Credit Suisse.
Industrial stocks gained 1 percent, followed by the
financials sector after Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
(ANZ) ANZ.AX and Macquarie Group MQG.AX released strong
results.
ANZ, the nation's No.3 lender by market value, posted its
fifth straight year of record profit, helped by gains in its
Asian operations and a strong performance at home.
ID:nL4N0SP8ZM
Macquarie Group, Australia's largest investment bank, posted
a 35 percent rise in first-half net profit on Friday, bolstered
by its asset management division and a recent focus on housing
loans. ID:nL4N0SP8WV
The mining sector also notched gains, aided by a small
rebound in iron ore prices, Australia's top export earner. Rio
Tinto Ltd RIO.AX and BHP Billiton BHP.AX jumped around 1
percent.
Falling gold prices, however, hurt Newcrest NCM.AX which
tumbled 4.3 percent to A$9.34, after plumbing its lowest since
late January.
The New Zealand stock market set a record high for a sixth
consecutive session supported by positive company outlooks and
month-end positioning. The benchmark NZX-50 index .NZ50 was up
0.6 percent, having touched a record of 5,405.311. It has gained
2.8 percent this month, its largest increase since March.
Gains were broad based with the biggest company Fletcher
Building FBU.NZ up 1.2 percent to NZ$8.58, and number two
stock telecommunications company Spark SPK.NZ rising 1.8
percent to NZ$3.17, its highest since early 2008.
Other top-10 stocks with strong showings were Auckland
International Airport AIA.NZ , Sky TV SKT.NZ , and casino
operator Sky City Entertainment SKC.NZ .
Among the mid-cap stocks, pharmaceutical and animal products
company Ebos Group EBO.NZ was up 2.7 percent to NZ$9.35 after
it said it was buying Australian pet food maker BlackHawk.
ID:nWNAS005UD
Transport and logistics company Freightways FRE.NZ was 3.1
percent higher at a record NZ$5.70 as it benefited for a second
consecutive session from strong first quarter earnings.
ID:nWNAS005M0
Among the declining stocks dual-listed Oceana Gold OGC.NZ
was down 9.6 percent at NZ$2.27 after reporting a sharp drop in
third quarter earnings.
(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA STOCKS/