The Australian sharemarket closed higher yesterday buoyed by a record gold price and bargain-hunting on stocks considered to have been oversold.
At the close the S&P/ASX200 index had lifted 25.1 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 4573.1.
Gold hit a record high of US$1234.50 to US$1235.50 an ounce in Hong Kong yesterday as investors sought a safe-haven over deepening concerns about the euro zone debt crisis.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the June share price index futures contract was 23 points higher at 4580.
CMC Markets analyst David Taylor said the local bourse was being pulled up and down by various forces.
He said investors had welcomed the rescue package for debt-laden Greece for the near term if not the long term, and stock prices seemed to be offering fair value.
The Federal Government's Budget had indicated that the Government was set in pursuing a new tax on mining profits, which gave investors a little more clarity.
However, on the negative side, the Wall Street Journal was reporting that United States federal investigators were probing whether investment bank Morgan Stanley had misled investors about mortgage derivative products it helped create and sometimes bet against.
"The market is a cocktail of forces at the moment, making head nor tail of situations out there," Taylor said.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank was 55c lower at A$54.30 as it increased third quarter cash earnings but said second half 2009/10 headwinds could crimp its full year underlying profit.
National Australia Bank rose 21c to A$25.47, ANZ was 22c richer at A$22.74 and Westpac found 4c at A$24.86.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton firmed 2c to A$38.15.
Rio Tinto eased 8c to A$67.02 as chief executive Tom Albanese said the mining giant was "shocked" and "concerned" about the Federal Government's proposed resources super profits tax.
Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum rose 79c to A$43.47 and Santos gained 13c to A$12.93.
- AAP
Bargain-hunters push Oz stocks up
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