The Australian sharemarket has risen strongly this afternoon despite a relatively weak start to the session after the Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes to its latest Board meeting. The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) rose 0.5% to 5,717 points, putting it on track to record its sixth consecutive session in the black.
There were no major surprises from the Reserve Bank's meeting minutes, although there were indications that further interest rate cuts could be a possibility. Indeed, the RBA referred to the need to closely monitor the situations unfolding in Greece and China (although admittedly, both seem to have cooled down over the last fortnight), while further depreciation of the Australian dollar is seen as both "likely and necessary".
Investors responded positively to the update and showed particular interest in the big bank stocks. While Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) rose 0.9%, National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) rose more than 1% each. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) bucked the trend, falling 0.2%.
The market also warmed to big-name companies such as Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) which rose 0.9% each.
Unfortunately, the nation's miners took another hit as commodities continued to weaken overnight. Interestingly, iron ore actually recorded a 3.4% gain, although that wasn't reflected in the price of miners such as BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) or Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) which fell 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively.
Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) also fell another 0.5%, with gold prices expected to continue falling over the coming months. Some analysts believe it will fall to just US$1,000 an ounce by the end of the year.
As previously mentioned, the market is now well and truly on the way to recording its sixth straight daily gain with the ASX 200 at its highest point in roughly seven weeks. Despite the recent gains however, there are still a number of high-quality companies trading at compelling prices making now an excellent time for investors to start building some long-term positions.
While there are some opportunities presenting themselves at the upper end of the market, there are plenty more at the lower end which could generate fantastic returns over the coming years.
