Good results put stocks in sight of 6000 mark

The benchmark ASX 200 index closed at a record high yesterday, led by Leighton and Computershare after the pair posted higher earnings.
BHP Billiton and Woodside Petroleum led commodity stocks higher after copper and oil prices surged.
WorleyParsons enjoyed its biggest gain in more than two years after resuming trading following its agreement last week to buy Calgary-based Colt Companies for $1.13 billion.
"It's all systems go," said Rob Patterson, who manages the equivalent of $3.36 billion at Argo Investments in Adelaide. "The reporting period is going quite well and there are some very good results there this morning.
"It looks like the sell-off that occurred in commodity prices might be stabilising, so that would be a good thing for the resource sector."
The ASX 200 advanced 23.90, to 5960.50 at the close, a record high.
The All Ordinaries added 30.4 to close at a record 5937.7.
About 10 stocks rose for every seven that fell. Leighton, Australia's biggest engineering and construction company, jumped $2.07 to $27.30.
It posted a 61 per cent gain in first-half profit to $190 million as mining contracts and highway projects pushed its order book to a record.
Computershare, the world's biggest share registrar, advanced 66c to $10.46.
It said first-half profit more than doubled to $119 million as mergers and acquisitions boosted demand for its services.
Full-year earnings would be 50 per cent higher than last year due to favourable conditions in equity markets, it said.
BHP added 23c to $28.79 and Rio Tinto jumped $1.72 to $77.20.
Zinifex, the world's second-biggest zinc producer, rose 65c to $16.35.
Copper surged the most in seven months on signs of rising demand for raw materials in China.
Copper for delivery in three months gained $US279, or 5.1 per cent, to $US5749 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange, marking the biggest gain since July 6. A measure of six metals in London rose 4.4 per cent, the most since January 10.
Zinc and lead miner Perilya added 7c to $4.62. Perilya said first-half profit rose more than four-fold to $76.1 million on surging prices for the metals.
Woodside added 70c to $37.20 after the International Energy Agency increased its forecast for global consumption this year.
World demand for crude oil is expected to rise 1.8 per cent to 86 million barrels a day, the IEA, an adviser to 26 industrialised nations, said.

That is 270,000 barrels a day more than it predicted one month ago.
Crude oil was little changed in New York after hours, after surging above $US59 a barrel on Tuesday.
The ASX 200 index's futures contract for March added 0.6 per cent to 5933.
Alumina, a partner with US-based Alcoa in a venture with a quarter of the world's alumina production capacity, rose 11c to $7.34. Alumina surged 5.9 per cent on Tuesday on a report that its partner Alcoa may be the subject of takeover bids from BHP and Rio Tinto.
Boom Logistics, an engineering and machinery rental company, dropped 58c to $3.80. The company, which reported first-half profit growth of 25 per cent, said chief executive officer Rod Harmon would leave on June 30, to be replaced by finance director Mark Lawrence.
Challenger Financial, a fund manager backed by billionaire James Packer, added 15c to $4.56.
Challenger formed a venture with London-based Protego Real Estate Investors to pursue property acquisitions in Europe.
Uranium group Energy Resources of Australia rose $1.51, or 6.2 per cent, to $25.93, saying it could not explain the share price rise, though it was aware of speculation of a possible buyout of minority shareholders by Rio Tinto.
JB Hi-Fi jumped 19c to $7.29, adding to its 7.4 per cent gain on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group raised its rating to "neutral" from "underperform" after the company said first-half profit rose 37 per cent to $26.8 million on Christmas demand for televisions, DVDs and computer games.