Aussie stocks soar to record high
Taking its lead from New York's Wall Street, the Australian share market soared Thursday and closed at a record high.
The All Ordinaries Index jumped 56 points to 6,548 and the ASX 200 also gained 56 points to close at 6,538.
Analysts warned the positive overnight lead from U.S. financial stocks could be reversed with the release of more U.S. housing data Thursday. This would affect the Aussie market Friday.
But in the meantime, it was heady times with the Commonwealth Bank jumping 33 cents to close at $49.96 while shares in the the National Australian Bank were up by 3 percent.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton rose 31 cents to $38.25 while Rio Tinto gained 1.3 percent to close at $94.45.
Shares in the uranium company, Energy Resources of Australia -- majority owned by Rio Tinto -- posted a gain of 6.5 percent to $16.21 on the back of the news the company is extending its Ranger mine.
On the money market, the Aussie dollar was buying 87.95 U.S. cents, 101 Japanese yen and 623 euro cents.
Spot gold closed at $728 an ounce with West Texas Crude oil trading at $80 a barrel. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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