Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Takeover action drives up Aussie stocks

The Australian share market closed higher for the fifth consecutive trading day, driven by takeover action following a positive lead from Wall Street.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 25 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 4,886.8 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had added 30.1 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 4,984.7 points.

On the ASX 24, the June share price index futures contract was 35 points higher at 4,909 points, with 27,357 contracts traded.

CommSec analyst Steve Daghlian said gains were broad-based, with mining stocks by far the best performers but the big banks were mainly lower.

"The banks have put some downward pressure on the market but we've still gained for five straight days," Mr Daghlian said.

"We've finished higher for nine of the past ten sessions.

"We've had a relatively strong run and over the last fortnight, we've gained about 5.5 per cent."

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