Banks and retailers share cheer

Banks and retail stocks led the sharemarket higher on Friday, overriding sharp falls by major mining stocks.
The ASX 200 index rose 20.2 points to 5603.7 while the All Ordinaries gained 16.1 points to 5577.8, in a shortened session on the Australian Stock Exchange ahead of the Christmas break.
For the week the ASX 200 was up 28.3 points compared with the previous Friday's close, while the All Ords was up 20.8 points.
ABN Amro Morgan client adviser Margaret Morrissey said investors were parking their money in bank stocks. "Banks are high-yielding investments, and are saving the day to a degree," Ms Morrissey said.
Westpac rose 29c to $24.22, NAB 32c to $40.58, CBA 14c to $48.73 and ANZ 15c to $28.48.
Ms Morrissey said Woolworths surged 33c to $23.65 amid growing speculation it would attempt to take over New Zealand retailer The Warehouse. Analysts said there could be a bidding war for The Warehouse next year, after Foodstuffs NZ on Thursday sought clearance from the NZ Commerce Commission to buy all of The Warehouse.
Coles Group added 24c to $14.05.
The Reject Shop firmed 3c to $8.74 after announcing former Coles Myer executive Gerry Masters would take over as managing director from March next year.
BHP Billiton fell 24c to $25.05 while its rival Rio Tinto gave up $1.65 to $72.99.
Oil and gas producer Woodside fell 75c to $37.74.
In media, Seven rose 14c to $10.99 after shareholders backed the network's plan to spin off its media assets into a $4 billion joint venture with US-based private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd rose 16c to $21.21 while Fairfax firmed 3c to $4.81. News Corp lost 12c to $28.65.
Disgraced wheat exporter AWB rose 13c to $3.08 after the federal government granted only two bulk wheat export permits out of a total 46 applications.
Wheat Australia will be allowed to ship 300,000 tonnes of wheat to Iraq, a market where the AWB is excluded, while a permit for 500,000 tonnes of wheat to Indonesia has been granted to CBH.
Telstra perked up 4c to $4.13 and its instalment receipts rose 3c to $2.69.