Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares extend bull run, banks gain

Reuters: Hot Stocks Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Australia shares extend bull run, banks gain Feb 20th 2013, 05:30 Tweet Share this Email Print Related Topics Basic Materials » Energy » Industrials » Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:30am EST (Updates to close) SYDNEY, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 0.3 percent on Wednesday, extending the market's bull run at 4-1/2 year highs, drawing momentum from overseas leads and a better than-expected earnings season. Banks led the index higher, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia posting the biggest gains of 1.2 percent. BHP Billiton fell 0.9 percent after reporting a 43 percent drop in half-year profits, its worst half-year slide in more than a decade but in line with market expectations. The company said CEO Marius Kloppers will step down in May and be replaced by Andrew Mackenzie. Rival iron ore miner Rio Tinto Ltd dropped 1.6 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 index was 16.8 points higher at 5,098.7, according to the latest data. On Tuesday, the market closed at its highest level since September 3, 2008. The Australian market has risen nearly 10 percent this year on receding euro zone and U.S. fiscal concerns, while a relatively strong earnings season has amplified those gains. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index closed the session down 0.7 percent or 30 points at 4,214.2. (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Eric Meijer) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions