PERTH: The Australian sharemarket traded higher at noon as major miners underpinned the positive tone following a rally in base metals overnight.
But gains were trimmed during the morning with Slater & Gordon leading shares on the downside, plunging as much as 36 per cent and adding to the stock’s 51 per cent drop yesterday in the wake of a UK government decision to crackdown on whiplash fraud.
At 12.05pm (AEDT), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was was up 17.8 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 5228.5, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 16.8 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 5276.5.
The US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, but European bourses provided a stronger lead for local equities, helping the benchmark jump 0.8 per cent at the open.
“What promised to be a quiet post-Thanksgiving Friday for the Australian market is off to a solid start,” CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner said. “Mining stocks have rallied following a strong bounce for copper and other base metals in London.”
Commodity markets surged on speculation that Beijing is looking capitalise on depressed base metal prices to boost its strategic reserves. Copper rose 1.9 per cent on the London Metal Exchange, while zinc, nickel, lead, tin and aluminium all jumped between 1.5 and 3 per cent.
Iron ore also rebounded off its fresh 10-year low hit on Wednesday, lifting 0.5 per cent to $US43.60 a tonne during Chinese trade.
Oroton Group this morning reported comparable stores sales were up 8 per cent in the first 17 weeks of the year, providing a bright spot for the market as retailers looks toward the key Christmas trading period. The company’s shares rose 5.77 per cent to $2.75.
Despite today’s gains, the local bourse is on track to close lower for the week, after jumping 4 per cent in the previous five days to post its third-best week of the year.
The materials sector was up 0.94 per cent at noon as BHP Billiton added 1.08 per cent to $19.145 while Rio Tinto advanced 1.01 per cent to $46.96.
