SMH 050715 Defensive mood boosts the banks

The sharemarket closed higher as defensive funds flowed to bank and financial stocks in anticipation of a dividend bonanza.
The market had earlier taken a lead from Wall Street while resource and energy stocks remained generally subdued. But it was the major and regional banks, and a number of other financials, which drove the market.
Macquarie Equities private client adviser Helen Spencer said the market on the whole was positive but "not racing away".
"But certainly the highlight was the defensive buying of the banks … with investors chasing yield and strong full franked dividends," she said.
The benchmark ASX 200 index was up 14.8 points to 4295.1 while the All Ordinaries rose 17.5 points to 4257.7.
The big four banks all posted gains. NAB rose 38c to $31.06, CBA 38c to $38.72, Westpac 11c to $19.48 and ANZ 16c to $21.39.
St George rose 18c to $26.02 and Bendigo 14c to $9.85. Macquarie Bank rose 91c to $61.41 and Perpetual Trustees $1.45 to $61.20.