By Robb M. Stewart
MELBOURNE, Australia--Australian shares touched fresh
more-than-five-year highs Monday, mirroring gains in Asia after
Larry Summers dropped out of the running to succeed Ben Bernanke as
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman.
The decision by Mr. Summers, who many investors had considered
likely to quickly wind down the Fed's easy-money policy, had
boosted U.S. stock futures late Sunday.
"This news is a massive shot in the arm for markets that have
seen a drop-off in liquidity," said Evan Lucas, a market strategist
at IG in Melbourne. Investors are positioning themselves ahead of
the Fed's policy meeting this week where many expect it to begin
rolling back its bond-buying program, he added.
At 0250 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 was trading 0.6% higher at
5252.3, led by gains in mining and energy shares. The benchmark
index touched an intraday high of 5266.1, topping a recent peak
reached in trading last Thursday.
Market heavyweight BHP Billiton was 0.6% higher, and rival Rio
Tinto was up 1%. Gold producer Newcrest Mining rallied 5.7%
alongside a rise in the price of the precious metal Monday. Lynas
jumped 7.4%.
The country's big retail banks also gained, with National
Australia Bank climbing 1.4%. Investment bank Macquarie Group was
2% higher.
Westfield Group advanced 0.2% after saying it was selling seven
shopping malls in the U.S. for a combined US$1.64 billion.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
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