Miners and builders add grunt to market

The Australian sharemarket closed higher yesterday as major mining stocks rebounded from losses and building stocks strengthened.
ABN Amro Morgans senior client adviser Roger Chandler said stocks in the metals sector had recovered a little yesterday, with global miner BHP Billiton leading the bourse higher.
"There hasn't been a rebound in metals prices, but there has been a rebound in sentiment," he said, adding that good companies had recently been oversold.
The building sector had strengthened on the back of a fall in oil prices, which posed less of a threat to a slowing economy and meant consumers would have more money to spend.
The ASX200 index was 42.8 points higher at 5017.2, while the All Ordinaries was up 39.8 points at 4978.6.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract gained 55 points to 5021, on a volume of 23,196 contracts.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton added 40c to $25.05, and Rio Tinto gained 97c to $68.36.
Macarthur Coal fell 10c to $4.60. It posted a record annual net profit but said next year's result would be significantly lower as revenues fall and costs rise.
Among other resources stocks, oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum rose 78c to $36.65, and Santos rose 19c to $10.62.
In the building sector, Rinker lifted 40c to $12.71, and James Hardie 18c to $6.69.
Among the major banks, the National Australia Bank improved 20c to $36.40, Westpac firmed 5c to $23.33 and the Commonwealth Bank stepped forward 15c to $46.10. ANZ dipped 2c to $27.22.
In the retail sector, Coles Myer added 40c to $14.40, reaching fresh record levels amid continued takeover speculation. Supermarket rival Woolworths shed 26c to $20.33.
Harvey Norman rose 4c to $3.43 as demand for big screen televisions spurred by football's World Cup helped to boost annual earnings.
Grocery wholesaler Metcash dipped 2c to $4.20 as it got behind a push to create a third force in the packaged liquor market, behind Coles Myer and Woolworths.
Clothes retailer Just Group fell 9c to $3.40 despite reporting a 24.6 per cent jump in annual profit and saying trading for the first six weeks of the new year was ahead of last year.
Telco Telstra was 7c better off at $3.60.
News Corp rose 32c to $25.75 while its non-voting stock strengthened 31c to $24.88. Publishing and Broadcasting inched forward 2c to $18.04, and John Fairfax firmed 2c to $3.97.