Australian share prices added 0.41 percent on Monday, extending the market's record breaking run on optimism that stocks still have further to go despite concerns about high oil costs, dealers said. The SP/ASX 200 rose 17.3 points at 4,266.4 while the broader All Ordinaries Index was up 19.0 points to 4,255.8, beating both records set Friday. The record climb indicated general optimism about the market despite rising oil prices and interest rates, dealers said.
Buying support, including from pension funds, had been across most sectors, head of institutional dealing at Hudson Securities Ric Klusman said.
While the Australian share market is due for a correction, the fundamentals were firm and resources could also still receive a pleasant surprise if demand from China "leads to a bubble in resource stocks," AMP Capital Investors chief equities strategist Shane Oliver said. BHP Billiton closed up 0.21 to 19.13 dollars while Rio Tinto fell 0.12 to 47.42 dollars.
Virgin Blue, which transport group Patrick Corp said Monday it had gained a 50.26 majority share in, was steady at 1.90 dollars. Patrick was up 0.04 at 6.39 dollars. Qantas was up 0.05 at 3.57 dollars.
In the banking sector, National Australia Bank was up 0.03 to 29.15 dollars and the Commonwealth Bank up 0.07 to 35.97 dollars. ANZ shed 0.09 to 21.32 dollars while Westpac fell 0.02 at 19.47 dollars.
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