Australian share prices closed modestly higher on Monday as investors took encouragement from gains in New York last week following a continuing flow of positive economic data in the US, dealers said. They said construction materials group Rinker was in the spotlight, rising to record highs after reporting a strong quarterly result because of the strength of its key US operations.
Dealers said investors were continuing to favour leading blue chip stocks ahead of the June profit reporting season although some profit-taking was evident, especially among major banks.
The key market index, the SP/ASX 200, closed up 6.0 points or 0.14 percent at 4,298.4, taking it closer to its record closing high of 4,312.2 reached on June 17 and an intra-day high of 4,321.7 struck on June 20. The index traded to a high of 4,312.5 and a low of 4,284.8.
The broader All Ordinaries index closed up 5.7 points at 4,259.9.
A total of 907.73 million shares worth 2.31 billion dollars (1.73 billion Us) were traded during the day, with risers outnumbering decliners 499 to 465 and 303 closing steady. Dealers said overall market gains were limited by the retreat of resources heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto on profit-taking, even though both groups are set to report record profits for the June half.
Hudson Securities' Ric Klusman said rises on Wall Street on Friday, wrapping up a third week of gains on a raft of positive economic data and a number of strong earnings reports, gave the market a positive lead for the day.
Rinker ended up 0.89 dollars or 6.44 percent at 14.72 after rising as high as 14.85 and James Hardie rose 0.09 to 8.15.
BHP Billiton fell 0.13 to 18.54 while Rio Tinto retreated 0.48 to 45.77. Alumina was down 0.01 at 5.66 but Iluka rose 0.05 to 7.55 while Zinifex was steady 2.94 and Minara was flat at 1.85.
Among oil explorers, Woodside added 0.47 at 29.18, Santos rose 0.35 to 10.90 and Oil Search added 0.03 to 3.26. News Corp was unchanged at 23.20 while its non-voting stock fell 0.04 to 22.10. Telstra added 0.01 to 5.05 while SingTel was down 0.01 at 2.12.
National Australia Bank rose 0.09 to 31.41 while Commonwealth Bank fell 0.19 to 38.61, ANZ dropped 0.13 to 21.15 and Westpac lost 0.08 to 19.35.
Macquarie Bank rose 1.07 to a record 63.28. Among retailers, Coles Myer added 0.05 to 9.24 while Woolworths rose 0.02 to 16.15. Westfield dropped 0.29 to 17.38, Lend Lease fell 0.12 to 12.73, Leighton eased 0.04 to 12.10 and Multiplex added 0.02 to 2.97. Qantas gained 0.02 to 3.25 and Virgin Blue was unchanged at 1.67.
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