Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares post modest gains on Bernanke comments

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Australia shares post modest gains on Bernanke comments Jul 18th 2013, 02:33 Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:33pm EDT (Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move) SYDNEY, July 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares edged up 0.2 percent on Thursday morning after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the timeline for winding down stimulus was not set in stone, but losses in defensive stocks kepts them below an important resistance level. Financials underpinned the index gains. Westpac Banking Corp rose 0.7 percent and top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia added 0.5 percent. National Australia Bank climbed 0.9 percent. Global mining firm Rio Tinto Ltd rose 1 percent. U.S. stocks ended modestly higher after Bernanke said the U.S. central bank still expects to start scaling back its massive bond-buying program later this year, but the timeline depended on the economic outlook. "It was a complete reiteration of his speech last week with even more cues that tapering is conditional on data," IG market strategist Evan Lucas said in a note. "You could hear the market taking a big deep breath on this news." The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 9 points to 4,993.1 by 0143 GMT. The benchmark had slipped 0.1 percent on Wednesday, snapping a six-day winning streak. The market has rebounded from a trough of 4,632.3 points hit on June 25 as receding worries about the Federal Reserve tapering its quantitative easing program bolstered investor sentiment. However, it has not been able to break above resistance at 5,012, the July 12 high and the 61.8 percent retracement level of its fall from a five-year peak of 5,249.6 on May 15 to the June low. "The resources will be the thing to push us through the 5,012 level," said Jonathan Fyfe, investment adviser at Wilson HTM Investment Group. "I'd also look at the financials as a backstop as well. They have got plenty of yield support and plenty of cash on the sidelines." Elsewhere defensives were lower. Biotech company CSL Ltd tumbled 1.1 percent and Insurance Australia Group Ltd lost 0.6 percent. Food retailer Woolworths Ltd shed 1.8 percent after increasing the forecast EBIT loss for its home improvements arm to $139 million from $81 million loss. It did however raise its full-year net profit growth guidance to 5 percent to 6 percent. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index added 0.1 percent or 5.5 points to 4,584.4. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * Austral Ltd soared 5.5 percent to A$0.87, its highest since mid-November, after revising its full year net profit after tax (NPAT) guidance to $35 million to $40 million. (0139 GMT) * Sandfire Resources rose 6.1 percent to A$6.28 after it produced more than 14,000 tones of copper and more than 11,000 ounces of gold for the June 2013 quarter. (0140 GMT) * Scott Corporation Ltd rallied 4.8 percent to A$0.44 after the transportation company raised its full year net profit guidance to $4.3 million to $4.35 million. (0141 GMT) * Silver Lake Resources Ltd slumped 4 percent to A$0.71 after delaying the development of a Western Australia mine by around a year. (0141 GMT) (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by John Mair) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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