Australian sharemarket treads water as gains in material sector counter falls in bank stock
The ASX 200 index finished down 1.9 points or 0.02 per cent to 8595.8 on a sea sawing day of trading which saw it hit a three-week high of 8623.60 then dipping to an intraday low of 8543.2.
The broader All Ordinaries closed up 4.90 or 0.06 per cent to 8,833.60.
The Australian dollar slipped 0.2 per cent to 65.67 US cents.
On a mixed day of trading, eight of the 11 sectors finished in the red, with gains of more than 3 per cent in the materials sector offset by falls in telecommunications, financials and consumer discretionary stocks.
Singapore iron ore futures rose 0.9 per cent to a multi-week high of $US96.20, as the market continued to react positively to the China manufacturing index released earlier in the week.
BHP shares soared 5.56 per cent to $39.27, while Rio Tinto finished up 1.80 per cent to $110.25 and Fortescue jumped 1.82 per cent to $16.26.
Lithium miners also rallied, with Mineral Resources up 7.76 per cent to $24.44, Pilbara up 11.31 per cent to $1.53, and Liontown up 5 per cent to $0.74.
While the miners soared the big banks slumped.
CBA slumped 2.17 per cent to $179.69, NAB dropped 1.07 per cent to $39.91 and Westpac fell 0.71 per cent to $33.48.
ANZ was the outlier among the major banks and gained 0.53 per cent to $30.08.
Australia's index dropped despite a strong lead in from Wall Street overnight with both the S & P 500 and Nasdaq hitting all time highs on the back of the US and Vietnam announcing a trade deal.
Capital.com senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said the market reacted positively to an average tariff of around 20 per cent, which is significantly lower than the 45 per cent initially planned on Liberation Day.
'Trade deals, especially ones with major trading partners and with far more favourable terms than outlined on 'Liberation Day', will be bought into by market participants and add to the momentum of Wall Street's record highs,' he wrote.
In company news Pro Medicus briefly hit an intra day high of $316.47, before settling up 7.78 per cent to $307.39 after announcing it had won two new contracts in the US which will add nearly $200m in revenue.
Shares in the highly anticipated GemLife IPO soared on debut, with the chief executive of the over 50s lifestyle resort adding $20m to his personal wealth in just 15 minutes after the company listed.
GemLife initially soared to $4.49, before closing at $4.33, which is still 4.1 per cent higher than its IPO price of $4.16.
G8 Education shares slumped for the third consecutive day of trading and closed down 7.4 per cent to $1.00, after police revealed it had charged a former employee with dozens of alleged abuse charges.
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