ASX has best week since May
The ASX 200 continued its record breaking run, jumping 118.20 points or 1.37 per cent to 8,757.20 with the index having its best day since April 10.
The broader All Ordinaries surged 116 points or 1.30 points to 9,006.80.
On an overall strong day for investors, all 11 sectors finished in the green.
Healthcare shares led the way up 2.47 per cent while the materials sector gained 2.06 per cent and information technology closed the week 1.50 per cent higher.
Healthcare darling CSL rallied 3.62 per cent to $257.38, Sigma Healthcare gained 1.08 per cent to $2.81 and Telix Pharmaceuticals jumped 2.77 per cent to $25.26. The ASX 200 continued its record breaking run. NewsWire Christian Gilles Credit: News Corp Australia
The major iron ore miners continued their run higher as the price of the commodity rose above $US100 a tonne for the first time in two months through the trading week, on the back of better than expected economic data out of China.
BHP chief executive Mike Henry told the market the demand for iron ore remained resilient on the back of strong Chinese demand.
'That resilience largely reflects China's ongoing ability to grow its overall export base despite a significant decline in exports to the USA, and its ability to deliver robust domestic demand despite the dislocation in the property sector,' Mr Henry said.
'While slower economic growth and a fragmenting trading system remain potential headwinds, stimulus efforts by China and the USA would help to mitigate the near-term impact.'
BHP jumped on this news, 3.02 per cent to $40.29, Fortescue rose 0.53 per cent to $17 and Rio Tinto finished in the green up 1.81 per cent to $113.11. All 11 sectors finished in the green. NewsWire / Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia
The big four banks also had a strong day with CBA adding 0.92 per cent to $182.46, NAB gained 1.27 per cent to $39.19. Westpac jumped 1.81 per cent to $34.31 and ANZ finished 1.22 per cent higher to $30.82.
Despite the strong run up from the major Australian shares, Morningstar says the top end could be overvalued with an 'earnings recession' likely to continue for the third straight year.
Morningstar market strategist Lochlan Halloway said while the other indexes continued to rise, Australia's largest businesses – from an earnings point of view – were actually falling.
'Eventually, something's got to give – either earnings catch up to lofty prices, or valuations rebase to reflect the reality of slower growth,' Mr Halloway said.
'This disconnect between prices and profits goes a long way to explaining why valuations look so stretched at the top end of the market.
In company news, shares in Mesoblast soared 34.7 per cent to $2.41 after the biotech company informed the market it had $20m in sales of its flagship stem cell therapy which was launched in March.
Virgin Australia gained 1.9 per cent to $3.27 after the recently relisted airline gained a buy rating from UBS citing clearer strategy and strong fundamentals for the business.
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