Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares post longest winning run since 2003

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Australia shares post longest winning run since 2003 Jan 30th 2013, 06:04 Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:04am EST MELBOURNE, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 0.2 percent to a fresh 21-month high on Wednesday as top miners climbed on firmer copper prices and insurers rebounded, while the wider market gained from a revival in risk appetite. It was the 10th straight day of gains -- the longest winning run since October 2003 -- and pushed the market to a 5.3 percent rise so far for January. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 7.7 points to 4,896.7, according to the latest data, its best since April 2011. "We could be seeing the 5,000-level reached on the index before a pullback happens," said Tim Waterer, senior trader at CMC Markets. "The bar is set almost embarrassingly low for the vast majority of key macro indicators for the U.S., and anything mildly positive is serving to feed more buying enthusiasm. The prevailing market psyche is easily pleased," he said. Investors shrugged off a surprise decision by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to give voters eight months notice of a national election, set for Sept. 14, in a move aimed at ending uncertainty around her struggling minority government. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index added 1.1 percent to 4,247.546, the highest since October 2007. The top 10 stocks rose 1.6 percent on improved risk appetite, amid signs the local economy is picking up. In Australia, global miner BHP Billiton gained 1.2 percent while Rio Tinto advanced 1.5 percent, helped by an increased economic growth forecast for 2013 from China's top think tank.. Insurers recovered after being sold down as fires and floods ravage the country. QBE Insurance Group rebounded 4.2 percent while Insurance Australia Group rose 1.2 percent. IAG said it had so far received around 5,600 claims arising from severe weather due to ex-tropical cyclone Oswald but catastrophe reinsurance limited its exposure to a first event to A$150 million. Analysts upgraded earnings forecasts for IAG after they lowered natural perils costs for the the first-half, due to be reported on Feb. 21. Supermarkets-to-hardware retailer Wesfarmers dropped 1.8 percent to A$38.13 after reporting same-store December quarter sales at its Coles supermarket chain rose 3.9 percent from a year earlier, a touch softer than analyst forecasts. Wesfarmers cut its full-year coal sales forecast, citing flooding in Australia that has affected production and weak demand in Asia that is depressing sales prices. Rival Woolworths, which reports quarterly sales on Thursday, slipped 0.7 percent to A$31.65 after touching five-year highs this week. AWE Ltd rose 6 percent to A$1.24 after it said oil and gas operations delivered net production of 1.3 million boe for the 3 months to December, and sales revenue was A$77 million for the quarter. (Reporting by Miranda Maxwell and Gyles Beckford in Wellington; Editing by Richard Pullin) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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