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The Aussie bourse has defied morning expectations for the second time in as many days, closing out all but flat with a 0.03% rise – again going against what ASX 200 futures had originally first predicted (today being a bigger drop).
It was most interesting because every major U.S. index dropped as much as 2% overnight.
All sectors bar one managed to move into the green Down Under today after original expectations were that most would head into the weekend having lost ground.
Real Estate led the way with a 1.48% gain, followed by Energy, which was up 1.20% through today, and Financials, which added a modest 0.99% to close.
The only down sector was Materials, losing 0.15% on its solo red day.
Miners like Fortescue (ASX:FMG) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) were the worst among the sector, with the former losing 2.1% and the latter sagging as much as 1.2%.
It was nearly all winners today though, especially in Energy: Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) added 4.7% and Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) lifted 5.2% after Canadian uranium giant Cameco halted production at its huge Kazakhstan-based uranium plant Inkai.
Also in energy, Karoon (ASX:KAR) leapt 2.3% to $1.43 a share.
Woodside (ASX:WDS) also added to the green rush there, up to $25.15 at sale.
SILEX Systems (ASX:SLX) was one of the biggest winners among the top 300 companies listed on the stock exchange; the $1.33B technology heavyweight climbed to $5.53 – an 8.74% gain through Friday afternoon trade.
Celebrating Red Sky (ASX:ROG) went the other way: The oil explorer’s big move into the Kwanza Basin saw investors walk away and push a 13% dip.
Imugene (ASX:IMU) was also closely watched on HotCopper after Sydney trials began.
That’s Market Close, I’m Isaac McIntyre, and I’ll see you on Monday at open.
