Resource stocks resume the climb

The Australian sharemarket climbed higher yesterday on continued strength in the resource and energy sectors.
The move into the black was underpinned by a rise in commodity prices and a lift in the price of oil on Friday as investors also reacted to company-specific news in the midst of reporting season.
The ASX 200 closed 35.6 points stronger at 4835.5 while the All Ordinaries rose 39.6 to 4788.1.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange the March share price index contract climbed 47 points to 4820 on volume of 14,564.
Joseph Palmer & Sons manager of private client services Allan Furlong said mining groups BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were the best performers although the resources sector remained volatile as sophisticated investors such as hedge funds continued to play the sector.
"The resources and energy stocks are all pushing up higher and that's offsetting the fact that Telstra shed a 20c dividend and that's why it's down today," he said.
BHP Billiton climbed 66c or 2.8 per cent higher to $24.54 while Rio Tinto jumped $3.25 or 4.5 per cent to $74.90.
Woodside Petroleum surged $2.07 or just over 5 per cent to $42.28 while Oil Search was up 13c to $3.59.
Telstra dipped 21c to $3.81 after going ex-dividend while Optus-owner Singapore Telecom lost 3c to $2.20.
The Commonwealth Bank crimped the gains in the banking sector, losing 45c to $43.54 as it went ex-dividend.
ANZ gained 16c to $24.91, NAB found 24c to $35.72 and Westpac edged 9c higher to $23.07.
Among media, News Corp was up 8c to $22.90 while its non-voting scrip was steady at $21.64. Media and gaming firm PBL moved 24c higher to $15.84.
Property giant Westfield dipped 5c to $16.90 after it announced an annual net profit of $4.2 billion and flagged a distribution of 106.5c per stapled security this year.
But BlueScope Steel rose 23c to $6.56 after a hefty 38 per cent drop in interim profit to $312 million still beat market expectations. Origin Energy gained 9c to $7.13 after announcing a merger with its New Zealand subsidiary Contact Energy while also unveiling a 14 per cent increase in first half net profit to $193.7 million.

Shares in snow and surf clothing firm Billabong jumped 67c or 4.6 per cent to $15.15 after it reaffirmed its earnings growth target for 2005-06 and reported a 14.7 per cent lift in half year net profit to $79.5 million.
The spot price of gold closed at $US553.375 per fine ounce, $US7.875 higher than Friday's close. Newmont rose 6c to $7.62 and Newcrest $1.27 to $24.80.
AAP
MONEY $A/US¢74.15+0.32
TWI62.9+0.1
90-day bank bills5.625-0.005
3-year bonds5.170-0.040
10-year bonds5.190-0.040
YESTERDAY'S MOVES
Rises 605 Falls 426 Steady 316
Mar SPI 4820.0 +47.0
S&P/ASX 200 4835.5 +35.6
Financials 5703.8 +7.6
Industrials 5248.2 +10.7
Energy 11522.3 +328.2
Volume Value 1.042bn 3.748bn
WINNERS ▲
Aquarius Platinum +12.77%
Jubilee Mines +7.23
Commander Comm +6.56
Corp Express Aust +6.03
Tap Oil +5.86
Lihir Gold +5.76
Kingsgate +5.64
Newcrest mining +5.40
Woodside Petroleum +5.15
Pacifica Group +4.76

LOSERS ▼
Centennial Coal -7.89%
Excel Coal -5.30
Gunns -4.14
Baycorp Advantage -3.32
Smorgon Steel -2.53
McGuigan Simeon -1.93
PaperlinX -1.85
Mayne Pharma -1.60
Iress Market Tech -1.58
Macquarie Infras -1.46