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The Australian share market pulled itself up by the bootstraps and clawed its way out of a tough morning and into a green close.
The benchmark ASX 200 index was down as much as 0.47 per cent in early action as investors digested a mixed session on Wall Street and a sobering economic outlook from the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Nevertheless, it seems investors decided today’s three-week low was a perfect opportunity to buy the dip and the index staged a gradual recovery until it closed 0.11 per cent up at 6057.7 points.
By the end of the day, most sectors were in the green but being held back by our big banking and energy stocks.
Our big four banks kept the financials sector subdued as ANZ fell 1.74 per cent and Westpac fell 1.35 per cent. NAB posted a slightly better result but still closed 1.10 per cent lower, while Commonwealth Bank was down 0.44 per cent. Investment banker Macquarie Group slipped 2.68 per cent.
As for the energy sector, Oil Search led today’s declines among our biggest oil and gas miners, down by 2.84 per cent. Origin Energy lost 1.41 per cent, Santos lost 1.96 per cent, and sector leader Woodside Petroleum lost 1.56 per cent.
Our travel and tourism stocks were battered this morning but mostly recovered over the course of the afternoon. Sydney Airport ended up closing grey and Auckland Airport lost 0.15 per cent. Qantas couldn’t escape the losses and closed 1.56 per cent in the red. Crown Resorts tacked on a modest 0.12 per cent, but Flight Centre fell 4,63 per cent.
The materials sector ended up closing green for the day, largely thanks to a 1.67 per cent rise from iron ore giant Fortescue Metals. Rio Tinto lost 0.39 per cent and BHP lost 0.49 per cent.
Our gold stocks surged today, however, reclaiming their status as a save haven investment as our 10 biggest gold miners by market cap all closed green. Newcrest tacked on 0.82 per cent, while Northern Star and Saracen each gained around 3 per cent. Evolution Mining gained 4.13 per cent, Silver Lake gained 5.16 per cent, and De Grey Mining closed 9.72 per cent up.
Tech stocks supported the recovery, led by a 7.28 per cent gain from Afterpay. Xero gained 1.16 per cent and WiseTech gained 3.98 per cent.
Overseas, it’s mostly red for Asian markets today. The Nikkei 225 index is down 0.44 per cent, and Asia Dow is down 0.12 per cent, and the Hang Seng is 0.2 per cent. The Shanghai Composite is the exception today, up by 0.4 per cent.
The Aussie dollar is stronger again this afternoon, currently worth 71.45 US cents, 54.78 pence, and 74.49 Japanese Yen.
Today’s ups and downs
Drilling set the tone for some of the biggest swings on the market today. E2 Metals (ASX:E2M) more-than-tripled today after stellar assay results from its Mia prospect in Argentina. The prospect lies near AngloGold Ashanti’s Cerro Vanguardia gold and silver mine. The company struck an intersection with an average grade of 1489 grams per tonne of gold and investors flocked to the stock. Shares in E2M closed 273 per cent higher and worth 84 cents each.
Meanwhile, junior miner Kairos Minerals (ASX:KAI) tumbled after its own set of assays from its Croydon Project in WA. Investors turned their nose up at the low-grade results and Kairos shares fell 18.52 per cent to 4.4 cents each.
