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Petroleum industry

Australian Sharemarket Reaches Record High

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Australian sharemarket continued its upward trend, reaching a record high for the second consecutive day on March 12, 1999. The benchmark all ordinaries index rose 10.8 points to 2961.3, driven by strong performance from heavyweights such as News Corp, BHP, and the Commonwealth Bank. The market's positive momentum was attributed to the lead from overseas markets, particularly the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which gained 124.60 points to 9,897.44.

Key Takeaways:

  • The all ordinaries index rose 10.8 points to 2961.3, a record high for the second consecutive day.
  • Morgan Stockbroking's Simon Reed attributed the market's strong performance to positive news from overseas markets.
  • Henderson Charlton Jones' Stuart Smith noted that the local market held on to most of the session's gains, with solid gains made by heavyweights such as News Corp, BHP, and the Commonwealth Bank.
  • Richfield Resources was a standout performer, with its share price rising 0.7 of a cent to 2.1 cents, driven by rumors that the company could be about to take a leap into the booming Internet area.
  • BHP continued to power ahead, gaining 21.5 cents to $12.87, after recent moves by the company to contact analysts and suggest full year profit forecasts could be wound back.
  • Other notable gainers included Rio Tinto, which surged 70 cents to $21.90, and the Commonwealth Bank, which rose 24 cents to $26.00.

Statistics:

  • Preliminary national turnover: 409.62 million shares valued at $1.08 billion.
  • 750 rises, 577 falls, and 435 stocks steady.
  • The March share price index contract on the Sydney Futures Exchange rose seven points to 2973.0, a 11.8-point premium to the physical market.
  • Richfield Resources was the top performer in terms of volume, with a turnover of 37.95 million shares valued at $720,572.
  • Comex gold for current delivery closed at $US295.70 per ounce, up 20 cents from the previous close.

Sources:

  • Morgan Stockbroking
  • Henderson Charlton Jones
  • The Australian sharemarket report for March 12, 1999
  • New York Times
  • Reuters
  • AFP
  • Asia Pulse Pte Ltd

COMTEX (http://www.comtexnews.com)

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