Australian Shares End Higher, Helped by Earnings and Sales Data

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--Australian stocks shrugged off a slump in oil prices to rise Tuesday, lifted by financial and consumer-goods shares after solid retail-sales data.

But weighed by resources shares and after the Reserve Bank of Australia left its key cash rate at a record low for the third straight month, the stock market failed to hold on to its highs for the day.

The S&P/ASX ended up 0.3% at 5697.90, having been up as much as 0.9% before the central bank's monetary-policy statement was released.

Although the rate decision was widely anticipated by economists, it sparked strong gains in the Australian dollar after the policy statement stepped back from further jawboning to push the currency lower. Reserve Bank Gov. Glenn Stevens noted the dollar had been adjusting to significant declines in the prices of key commodities.

That came after the statistics bureau reported a 0.7% rise in retail sales in June from May, the biggest month-over-month increase since February and ahead of economists' forecasts.

The basket of ASX 200 discretionary consumer shares gained 0.8% and consumer staples climbed 1% for the day, with names such as electronics retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. (HVN.AU) up 6.1% and Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (DMP.AU) adding 3.5%.

Insurance stocks were stronger after Suncorp Group Ltd. (SUN.AU) posted a 55% jump in full-year profit and offered a special dividend to shareholders on top of the payout for the second half of the financial year. Suncorp's shares rose 1.5%, QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (QBE.AU) increased 1.2% and Insurance Australia Group Ltd. (IAG.AU) added 0.7%.

"Suncorp have really lifted expectations for Aussie reporting season," IG market analyst Chris Weston said. "The diversified financial has had a good run since early May and the market clearly wanted to see pleasing number."

Shares in the big banks were mixed. National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU) and Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC.AU) fell 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AU) advanced 0.8% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ.AU) added 0.3%.

Energy shares were weaker after an overnight fall in oil prices, with the Brent benchmark dropping below US$50 a barrel for the first time in since late January, bringing losses to 53% over the past year. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU) and Oil Search Ltd. (OSH.AU) each fell 0.8%, while Santos Ltd. (STO.AU)declined 2.6%.

Energy and mining company BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) fell 1.1%, while mining company Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU) dropped 0.3% and iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG.AU) lost 4.6%.

Biotechnology company CSL Ltd. (CSL.AU) broke above 100 Australian dollars (US$72.86) a share, a level no other stock currently holds, as it continued its recent steady run with a 2% rise. IG's Mr. Weston said the about 5% fall in the Australian dollar over July had helped back the rise in CSL, which reports in U.S. dollars.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]