Australian Share Market Reaches Record High, Fails to Surpass 3000-Point Mark

The Australian share market closed at a record high on Tuesday, with the all ordinaries index reaching 2,992.2, a new closing high. However, weakness in the resources sector, particularly in key stocks like Commonwealth Bank of Australia, prevented the market from surpassing the 3000-point barrier. The market peaked at a record 2,996.3 before sliding back. The resources sector was led down by weakness in BHP, the biggest industrial company in Australia, and a soft gold sector following bullion's slump.

Key Takeaways:

• The Australian share market closed at a record high on Tuesday, with the all ordinaries index reaching 2,992.2.
• The market failed to surpass the 3000-point barrier due to weakness in the resources sector, particularly in key stocks like Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
• The Commonwealth Bank of Australia shed 87.4 cents, or 3.3 percent, to 25.78 Australian dollars as its share buyback offer drew to a close.
• ANZ bank gained 17 cents to 10.99 Australian dollars, National Australia Bank put on 9.5 cents to 28.49 Australian dollars, and Westpac bank accelerated 4.8 cents to 10.94 Australian dollars.
• The resources sector was led down by weakness in leader BHP and a particularly soft gold sector following bullion's slump.
• The gold index tumbled 39.9 points or 3.9 percent to 1,034.4 as the price of gold bullion was trading in Sydney at 286.00 U.S. dollars per fine ounce.

Statistics:

• The all ordinaries index gained 2.7 points to reach 2,992.2.
• The all industrials index added 14.1 points to reach 5,397.4.
• The all resources index lost 9.3 points to reach 1,020.7.
• Total turnover on the day was 380.7 million shares traded worth 772.35 million U.S. dollars.
• 683 falling stocks, 571 rising, and 451 steady.

Sources:

• XINHUA, "Australian share market closes at record high, fails to reach 3000-point mark," March 16.
• COMTEX, "News Provided by COMTEX (http://www.comtexnews.com)".