The S&P/ASX 200 held onto most of its gains today (31 January) to set a new 100-day high at 8,532.3 points by the closing bell.
The index ended the session with a gain of 38.6 points, or 0.45%, and has gained 1.47% over the past five days. It sits just 0.4% of its 52-week high.
Nine of the 11 sectors ended higher. Information technology was the best performing sector gaining +1.28% on Friday and advancing 2.72% over the past five days.
Materials climbed 1.03%, industrials rose 0.51% and energy ticked up 0.49%.
Gold miner Vault Minerals (ASX:VAU) finished on top with a 6.85% gain to close at $0.39, likely thanks to the gold price setting a new record.
Fellow gold producer Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR) also remained in the top five after rising 4.59% to $4.33.
Emerald reported record December-quarter production from its Okvau Gold Mine of 31,900 ounces, which exceeded the company’s guidance.
Quarterly all-in sustaining costs also came in lower at US$855 ($1,374) an ounce, down from US$991 an ounce in the September quarter, and the miner was selling its gold for an average US$2,669 an ounce.
Pre-tax operating cash flow rose to $89.3 million, up from $57.8 million in the previous quarter, and cash and bullion on hand at the end of December sat at $243 million.
Sliding down the scale was Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), which dropped 2.64% to $34.98, and IGO (ASX:IGO), which fell 2.57% to $4.93.
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market. The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: iStock
