Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australian shares rise to 5-yr closing highs, investors await budget

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Australian shares rise to 5-yr closing highs, investors await budget May 14th 2013, 06:38 Tue May 14, 2013 2:38am EDT (Adds details, comments) SYDNEY May 13 (Reuters) - Australian shares edged 0.2 percent higher to notch a fresh five-year closing high on Tuesday, as a weaker Australian dollar lifted companies with a high exposure to the U.S., but trading was subdued before the annual federal budget due to be delivered later in the day. Australia's Labor Party government will announce its budget at 7.30 pm local time (0930 GMT), with expectations of a A$17 billion deficit this year and A$10 billion in 2013/14. Stocks with a large exposure to the U.S. markets rallied after the Australian dollar hit its lowest point in 11 months on Monday. Property and casualty insurer QBE Insurance climbed 2.3 percent, pallets supplier Brambles jumped 3.1 percent while biotechnology firm CSL Ltd added 1.2 percent. Shopping mall operator Westfield Group inched 0.3 percent higher and building products maker James Hardie rose 0.5 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 index finished the session 10.7 points higher to 5,221, a fresh five-year closing high and not far from the intraday five-year high of 5,242 marked last week. The index edged up 0.1 percent on Monday. "I think the market could probably hold at these levels, said Tim Baker, equities strategist at Deutsche Bank. "I think the earnings outlook is better than what it was, interest rates are still low and equities are up for a decent dividend yield." Gold miners were weaker. Newcrest Mining Ltd and Regis Resources Ltd lost 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. Gold rose for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday, but persistent outflows from exchange-traded funds reflected investors' waning interest in the safe-haven precious metal. MacMahon Holdings Ltd surged 25.7 percent after issuing a corporate update saying the mining business is on track to deliver earnings in line with its guidance. Australia's Intrepid Mines soared 17.4 percent after the company shareholders rejected a bid to oust the board on Tuesday. Westside dropped 10.7 percent after it said PetroChina International had withdrawn its indicative takeover proposal. A total of 638.4 million shares traded hands in a subdued session ahead of the budget. "Until we see news out of the budget tonight, most things are trading sideways," said Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG. Around 400,000 first-time voters go into Australia's September elections with little experience idea of economic hard times, adding to Treasurer Wayne Swan's mounting problems as he delivers what is shaping up as his last, most difficult, budget. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index lost early gains to finish the session 0.6 percent or 25.8 points lower to 4,645.9. (Reporting by Thuy Ong, additional reporting by Michael Sin; Editing by Eric Meijer) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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