Market Report: Aussie biotechs keep even keel amid cautious week

Declines in banks and miners pulled the S&P/ASX200 Index down today erasing Thursday’s gains and leaving the exchange pretty much where it started the week.

Positive car and housing data out of the U.S on yesterday was seen as a cause for optimism amongst investors, however, while this week’s strong performance of Asian stocks was also encouraging. Analysts cautioned though that any further bad news out of Europe could see investors quickly running for cover.

Much like the wider market, Australian health and biotech stocks were little changed throughout the week, although the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index was up a modest 1.49 percent today.

The best performer on Friday was Brisbane-based ImpediMed, whose shares jumped 11 percent to $0.645. The company’s fortunes took a dramatic turn for the better back in March after it received the all important U.S Category 3 coding for the use of its bioimpedance technology to treat lymphedema. Living Cell Technologies ( LCT ) also did well, rising 6.38 percent to $0.25.

Looking at the major players, CSL rose 2.8 percent today to $32.82, but remains well off its price of over $37.00 back in early April. Resmed and Cochlear by contrast continue to outperform.

The biggest news of the week though was the announcement by Tennet Healthcare of the U.S that it had dropped its bid for Australia’s second largest hospital operator Healthscope, under pressure from one of its major shareholders. Shares in the Australian company surged throughout May, coming down slightly from its 52-week high to close today at $5.54.