Miners help ASX start month higher

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The Sydney Morning Herald

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Australian shares resumed their upward climb on Friday, rising 0.9 per cent as another jump in iron ore prices boosted miners and foreign investors continued to chase high-yielding stocks, but analysts cautioned the market was due for a pullback.

Global miners BHP Billiton gained 1.2 per cent and Rio Tinto ended up 1.3 per cent.

The market surged 4.9 per cent in January — building on a 3.2 per cent rise in December and the biggest monthly per centage gain since January 2012.

“While January is seasonally a solid month, February is often soft and after the huge gains since the last correction in November, shares are overbought and vulnerable to a short-term pullback or consolidation,” said AMP Capital head of investment strategy Shane Oliver.

The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index ended up 42.3 points at 4,921.1, its highest close since April 11, 2011. The index fell 0.4 per cent on Thursday to break a 10-day run of gains.

The index slipped briefly after the release of softer-than-expected Chinese purchasing managers’ data, after a run of recent solid economic figures, but soon recovered.

“Australia is a high-yielding country and there are a lot of foreign funds coming here and that is supporting the market,” said Macquarie Equities division director Lucinda Chan.

She said blue-chip shares with good dividend yields were in favour ahead of company reporting season, including a 2.3 per cent jump for National Australia Bank on Friday after a broker upgrade and a 1.1 per cent gain for telecom firm Telstra Corp.

Second-tier financials also benefited, such as insurer Suncorp, up 2.45 per cent and Bank of Queensland up 3.4 per cent.

Linc Energy slumped after updating its outlook for oil and gas production. The shares ended down 11.5 per cent.

Karoon Gas Australia Ltd shares jumped 3.4 per cent, a day after announcing an oil find at its Kangaroo 1 well in Brazil.

Shares in outdoor clothing and camping gear retailer Kathmandu Holdings jumped 4.5 per cent after the firm raised its first-half profit guidance to a gain of up to 75 per cent, on same-store sales growth of 6.1 per cent.

Reuters