Aust, market sharply higher

Press, 5 September 1983, Page 21

Aust, market sharply higher

After trading uncertainly in the first two days of the week Australian sharemarkets surged ahead in the remaining three to close sharply higher.

Over the week the allordinaries index rose 17.9 points to 714.6, a new high for the year, and its highest point since July, 1981. Gains were widespread, as the all-industrials index rose 15.1 points to 858.8, an all-time high, and the allresources index advanced 19.9 points to 597.7, a new

high for the year. In the last three days share prices rose sharply across the boards as turnover picked up strongly. Market analysts attributed the upturn originally to a sharp upswing on Wall Street, and during the last two days to a succession of encouraging annual results, and news of a potentially large oil discovery in a relatively unexplored region off the coast of northwestern Australia. The announcement on

Thursday morning that evidence of Hydrocarbons had been found during a wireline test of the Jabiru 1A well generated considerable excitement as the well is located in the virtually unexplored Browse basin off the coast of Western Australia. The announcement precipitated heavy trading among three publicly-listed stocks with interests in the permit area — BHP, Weeks, and Ampol. WMC’s share price

slumped after the company announced a sharp downturn in annual earnings and a sAust24s million capital raising programme, the largest ever sought by an Australian company. Among companies to report this week for the year to June 30 were Coles, which increased earnings 19.8 per cent to sAustB2.4 million, and MIM, which increased earnings to sAust39.2 million compared with a loss of $10.4 million previously.