A man looks the board of the Australian Securities Exchange ASX in central Sydney August 7, 2013.
A man looks the board of the Australian Securities Exchange in central Sydney August 7, 2013. Reuters/Daniel Munoz

Australian shares spiked at the close, with the ASX 200 index ending 1.1 per cent firmer to 5636. The easing in concerns of a Greek exit from the Eurozone (EZ) and stronger than expected Chinese economic data were helpful catalysts for the gains.

Local stocks have cracked through three week highs; have improved for the second day and added to Tuesday’s 1.9 per cent surge.

Mobile and data company Amaysim (AYS) rose by 5.5 per cent to close 10c above its issue price to $1.90 on its ASX debut today. The telco repackages Optus mobile services and has over 700,000 customers.

Engineering firm Bradken (BKN) gained 16.8 per cent after reassuring the market it’s on track to meet its profit forecasts for the year. BKN has fallen for the past 20 days–shedding half of its value in the process.

BHP Billiton (BHP) slipped by 0.7 per cent after surging by 2.6 per cent on Tuesday. Australia's fifth largest listed company flagged a US$2.8bn (pre-tax) hit to profit due to a writedown of its US shale oil assets.

Consumer confidence fell by 3.2 per cent in July according to a monthly survey. Sentiment has hit a seven-year low due to global concerns in recent weeks. Myer (MYR), JB Hi-Fi (JBH) and Harvey Norman (HVN) all improved regardless.

The major banks rose by approximately 0.9 per cent and accounted for a quarter of the market’s improvements. Volume was above average today, with 1.8bn shares traded worth $4.9bn. 597 stocks were up, 325 down and 346 unchanged.

Steven Daghlian - Market Analyst (Author)

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