SYDNEY - Australian shares rose 0.4 per cent to a record closing high on Friday, as better-than-expected earnings and a share buyback from National Australia Bank Ltd. lifted shares in the country's top bank to a life high.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 22.6 points to 5,432.0,
based on the latest available data, erasing the previous record on Wednesday. It also scaled a life-high of 5,432.5 earlier in the day.
The index, which raced to its third record close this week, rose 1.4 per cent on the week.
NAB unveiled a bumper full-year profit of A$4.392 billion after posting a 33 per cent rise in second half earnings on stronger lending. It also announced a A$500 million share buyback.
"The overall result looks good, probably the thing that impressed me the most was the improvement in cost-to-income ratio," said Angus Gluskie, a portfolio manager with White Funds Management, which oversees about A$400 million, referring to the NAB results.
The stock, with a 6 per cent weightage in the benchmark index, rose 3.7 per cent to a record closing high of A$39.60, logging its highest single-day percentage gain in three and a half years.
NAB accounted for 11.9 points of the index's 22.6 points gains on Friday.
Elsewhere, gold miner Bendigo Mining Ltd. fell 11 per cent to A$0.85 after selling shares below the offer price set for an institutional share placement, to raise a lower-than-sought A$50 million.
Waste management firm Baxter Group Ltd. jumped 14.2 per cent to A$5.48 after bigger rival Transpacific Industries Group Ltd. TPI.AX made a friendly A$240 million off-market bid to acquire Baxter. Transpacific fell 1.6 per cent to A$7.99.
Clothing and music retailer Brazin Ltd. rose 0.4 per cent to A$1.76 after it recommended shareholders accept a buyout offer led by founder Brett Blundy at A$1.81 per share, valuing the company at A$215 million.
