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SYDNEY - The Australian stock market rocketed to fresh highs today, buoyed by solid gains from the big miners and an easing in the inflation outlook as judged by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished up 59.3 points to a record 6304.9, while the all ordinaries index also gained 59.3 points to 6296.2, also a record close.
At 1618 AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the June share price index contract was 59 points higher at 6318, on a volume of 15,288 contracts.
CMC Markets analyst David Land said the materials and energy sectors were clearly the leaders on the day, with the large miners moving full steam ahead.
"They have has a strong run at the moment, with a particularly strong run out of BHP and Rio," he said.
"They illustrate how strong it's been. We have seen a bit more of a mixed day out of the big banks, so even without that support it still managed to push the market well ahead."
The world's largest miner BHP Billiton picked up 71 cents to A$30.60, while rival Rio Tinto added A$3.82 to A$86.85.
Mr Land said even the mid-tier miners had a successful day, with Beach Petroleum jumping nearly six per cent, or 7.5 cents, at A$1.33 while Jubilee Mines added 5.25 per cent or 89 cents to end at A$17.85.
"You can see how widespread this has been," Mr Land said.
Earlier today the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lowered its inflation forecast for the rest of 2007 based on stable oil prices, a higher exchange rate and cheaper bananas.
The RBA lowered its forecast for year-end underlying inflation, which excludes volatile price movements, to fall back to 2.5 per cent or below in the next few quarters from 2.75 per cent.
This also added fire to the market, analysts said.
The gold miners also pushed the bourse higher, with the price of spot gold at 1630 AEST in Sydney adding US$5.45 at US$681.10 per fine ounce.
Gold miners benefited from the higher price, with Lihir adding four cents to A$3.01 and Newcrest climbing 58 cents to A$22.98.
Australian miner Bolnisi Gold NL sahres fell one cent at A$3.29 after announcing it will merge with Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation and Palmarejo Silver and Gold Corp in a USA$1.1 billion (AA$1.34 billion) deal to create the world's leading silver producer.
The banks were mixed, with Commonwealth firming 45 cents to A$54.30, Westpac picking up eight cents to A$27.28 and NAB advancing 12 cents to A$44.12, but ANZ bucked the trend to give back one cent at A$30.73.
The nation's fifth largest bank, St George, was up three cents at A$36.60 after reporting a more than 14 per cent lift in first-half profit and upgraded its annual earnings outlook earlier this week.
National carrier Qantas was up one cent at A$5.38, with today being D-Day for the prviate equity-led Airline Partners Australia's proposed A$11.1 billion takeover offer for the airline.
APA consortium this morning advised that its voting power in Qantas had increased from 27.78 per cent to 34.59 per cent.
APA has acceptance instructions from a further 1.44 per cent of shareholders under its institutional acceptance facility, taking total acceptance to 36.03 per cent.
If the consortium can increase the acceptance of its A$5.45-per-Qantas share offer to more than 50 per cent by 1700 AEST today, it will trigger a two-week extension to the bid deadline.
Elsewhere, Oil Search said at its annual general meeting in Port Morseby that liquefied natural gas (LNG) was still a lucrative market, despite the collapse of the proposed Papua to New Guinea-to-Australia gas pipeline project.
Oil Search added eight cents at A$3.65.
Other energy stocks faired well, with Woodside gaining 75 cents to A$41.75 and Santos rising 28 cents to A$12.58.
Shares in Australia's largest power retailer AGL Energy Ltd tumbled 17 cents at A$15.45 after Macquarie Bank Ltd said it was weighing up a last-ditch bid along with AGL for energy utility Alinta Ltd.
Shares in Alinta put on 10 cents at A$15.25, while Macquarie Bank put on A$1.28 at A$91.00.
Condom and glove manufacturer Ansell Ltd has acquired Brazil's third largest condom company, Fabrica de Artefatos de Latex Blowtex Ltda (Blowtex) of Brazil, for an undisclosed sum in a private deal.
Shares in Ansell were five cents lower at A$11.49.
The media sector suffered, with News Corp falling 15 cents at A$28.61, while its non-voting stock fell 20 cents at A$26.40.
This week Rupert Murdoch launched a A$5 billion bid to buy Dow Jones & Co, owner of The Wall Street Journal and other media assets.
Mr Murdoch said he would take steps to maintain the Journal's editorial independence and invest in journalism if the bid was approved.
FairFax Media lost three cents at A$5.27 but Publishing & Broadcasting ended 10 cent firmer at A$20.55.
Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd's A$2.85 billion capital raising has been given the go-ahead by shareholders - clearing one obstacle in the mobile phone provider's quest for profitability.
Shares in the operator of the 3 mobile network gained nearly three per cent, or 0.5 cents, to 17.5 cents.
Telstra gained ended two cents higher at A$4.86, while its instalment receipts were flat at A$3.39.
Preliminary market turnover reached 1.6 billion worth A$5.79 billion, with 751 stocks moving up, 494 stocks down and 386 unchanged.
- AAP