5000 mark back in bourse's sights

The sharemarket may have ended the week with a whimper but it still delighted investors by posting its first weekly gain in a month as company profit results took a turn for the better.
Investors are hoping the correction in local stocks is behind them and are now training their eyes once again on the 5000-point mark, which has proved elusive since the reporting season got into full swing two weeks ago.
After recording its worst five-day performance in four months last week, the benchmark ASX 200 index fell 19.8 points to 4893.4 on Friday but was still up 93.5 points over the week. The All Ordinaries also fell 17.9 points to 4849.4 on Friday but was up more than 2 per cent, or 100.9 points, on the week.
Nomura Australia market strategist Eric Betts said the bourse was driven during the week by a bevy of company results, most of which provided positive stories.
"It was a good news week … Investors have been … positively surprised," he said.
Among retailers, David Jones surprised investors with a threefold upgrade in the forecast growth of its first-half profit despite recording a fall in second-quarter earnings. The company was one of the biggest gainers, jumping more than 12 per cent, or 34c, over the week to $2.75.
Mr Betts said the performance of the steel companies was one of the more notable features as they benefited from sentiment that steel prices had bottomed.
OneSteel rose 7c to $3.71 on Friday, up 37c over the week, while Bluescope rose 18c on Friday, up 57c over the five days.
However Smorgon Steel ruined the party when it warned second-half earnings would be hit by weaker domestic manufacturing. The stock fell 2c to $1.27 on Friday, down almost 20 per cent, or 31c, over the week.
Perth gas and electricity company Alinta entered the limelight this week by snapping up a 19.9 per cent stake in AGL, leaving investors bracing for one of the nation's biggest ever takeovers.
Alinta rose 18c to $11.10 on Friday, up 23c over the week. AGL was unchanged at $19.20 on Friday but up $1.33 on the week.
Mr Betts said the 5000-point mark was well in sight and could be achieved in two or three days "if the sentiment is right".
Woolworths could set the tone for a good week on Monday when it reports its interim results.
Newcrest was one of the week's biggest losers after the surprise resignation of its chief executive, Tony Palmer, and its warning that full-year profit could fall as much as 30 per cent.
The stock fell almost 20 per cent over the week, closing down $1.19 at $20.89 on Friday.
Colonial First State's head of investment markets research, Hans Kunnen, said the 2.1 per cent gain in the All Ordinaries over the week was "very solid", driven by resources companies and the flow-on from positive sentiment about interest rates in the US.