Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares climb on Italy debt sale, Bernanke comment; financials up

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Australia shares climb on Italy debt sale, Bernanke comment; financials up Feb 28th 2013, 01:58 Tweet Share this Email Print Wed Feb 27, 2013 8:58pm EST (Adds details, comments, stocks on the move) SYDNEY, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 0.7 percent on Thursday, led by financials after a well-bid Italian debt auction and as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reassured investors of the central bank's commitment to monetary stimulus. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was 36.6 points higher at 5,073.2 at 0127 GMT. The benchmark rose 0.7 percent on Wednesday. Commercial Bank of Australia <CBA.AU) and Westpac Banking Corp led gains in the banking sector, each climbing 1.7 percent. U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with major indexes posting their best daily gains since early January, as Bernanke remained steadfast in supporting the Fed's stimulus policy and data pointed to economy improvement. A well-bid Italian debt sale also calmed investor nerves after inconclusive elections over the weekend raised concerns of another period of instability in Europe. On the domestic data front, business investment suffered a surprise fall last quarter as firms outside the red-hot mining sector cut back. The data also showed that a closely watched estimate for spending in the 12 months to June 2014 came in at A$152.5 billion, which would be a slowdown from the A$168.2 billion expected for 2012/13 but still a major support for the A$1.5 trillion economy. "It does look like going forward, businesses are going to expand their spending in 2014," said Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG Markets. "It should bode well for all those cyclical stocks where they have been pushed down in that time." Cyclicals were bid-up Thursday, with retailers David Jones soaring 2.2 percent and rival Myer up 1.5 percent. "There's a lot of profit glaring investors in the face and it is starting to look quite attractive," Lucas said. However, "I don't think we're going to continue to see the market rocket up as hard as it has been over the past three months." The Australian market has rallied 9.1 percent so far this year, supported by receding U.S. and euro zone debt concerns as well as a relatively strong earnings season. Blue chip iron ore miners BHP Billiton Ltd added 0.5 percent while rival Rio Tinto Ltd jumped 1.6 percent. Oil and gas miners were also firmer: Woodside Petroleum soared 1.9 percent while Santos jumped 1.2 percent. Spot iron ore prices steadied after falling to one-month lows, although weaker steel prices in China are keeping buying interest for the raw material in check. A major port for iron-ore exports in northwestern Australia reopened after a powerful cyclone swept across the coastline, with other ports in the region expected to gradually return to normal as officials lifted emergency warnings. Defensives were mostly higher, although top telecoms provider Telstra bucked the trend and dropped 1.1 percent. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index notched up 0.9 percent or 36.8 points to 4,313.1. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * Woolworths Ltd jumped 1.3 percent to A$34.45. Australia's top supermarket chain posted a 4.2 percent rise in its first-half profit and slightly upgraded its full year guidance while noting challenging trading conditions in retail. (0124 GMT) * Lend Lease climbed 1 percent to A$10.745. The company confirmed it has signed an agreement to sell its aged care business for A$270 million. (0125 GMT) * Altura Mining was trading flat after buying a one-third stake in an operating coal mine in Indonesia. (0125 GMT) (Reporting By Thuy Ong; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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