PERTH: Australian stocks have staged a recovery after ending last week with their biggest losses in three years.
Bank stocks helped drive Monday’s gains after sparking last week’s sell-off.
The All Ordinaries index added 0.6 per cent to close at 5,505 and the ASX 200 index rose by 34 points to finish at 5,509.
Healthcare stocks were the biggest losers after the rubber and latex products maker Ansell warned of weaker earnings ahead.
Ansell reported a strong 20 per cent rise in net profit for 2015 and the full-year dividend is up 10 per cent.
But the company warned the stronger US dollar was set to hit earnings this financial year.
Ansell shares closed down nearly 16 per cent at $20.84.
The big banks went the other way; the National Australia Bank added 1.5 per cent to close at $33.32 after reporting a 9 per cent increase in third-quarter profit, citing solid revenue growth and a drop in bad debts.
The bank’s unaudited cash profit came in at $1.75 billion for the three months to the end of June.
Regional lender Bendigo and Adelaide Bank announced a near 14 per cent rise in full-year profit to $423.9 million.
Commonwealth Bank gained 1 per cent to $82.14. It unveils its full-year result on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, strong sales in the second half of last financial year helped to drive a 6.3 per cent rise in JB Hi-Fi’s full-year profit.
