Bargain hunting snaps five-day losing streak on ASX

Australian Stock Report head of research Chris Conway agreed that "there is certainly some bargain hunting going on".

However, "one modest bounce after a 400 point sell-off doesn't mean the bulls are back in control. If anything, it is the market pausing and testing the bears, to see if they have the conviction to drive the market lower."

NAB returned to the market after raising $2.7 billion from institutional investors. The shares last fetched $34.78 on Wednesday before trading was halted. NAB fell 0.7 per cent to $34.54, only partly following the large decline in bank stocks that has taken place since then, amid some positive sentiment around the bank.

Among the other banks, ANZ lifted 1.5 per cent to $32.41, Commonwealth Bank added 0.8 per cent to $82.88 and Westpac added 1.1 per cent to $34.06.

BHP firmed 2.2 per cent to $32.53 and Rio Tinto climbed 1.1 per cent to $59.25. Fellow blue-chip Telstra lifted 1 per cent to $6.11, rebounding strongly from an early morning low of $5.95 - the first time the telco's stock traded below $6 since January.

Qantas shot up 7.2 per cent - its highest since September 2008 – after the airline said it expected its fuel bill this financial year to be $550 million lower than 2013-14, coupled wirth $875 million in benefits to flow from its so-called transformation plan by the end of June.

Building products group CSR soared 7.7 per cent to $4.04 after reporting an 82 per cent surge in underlying full-year profit to $146.5 million as booming new home construction boosts sales.

Aluminium giant Alcoa will shut its coal mine and power plant at Anglesea in Victoria after failing to find a buyer in the oversupplied market, with 85 employees to be affected, it was reported on Tuesday. Alcoa of Australia, 40 per cent owned by ASX-listed Alumina, will incur about $US42 million of financial charges for the closure after tax. Alumina finished 0.6 per cent higher at $1.72.

Explosives giant Orica has downgraded its guidance and raised the possibility of cutting its ammonium nitrate supply as it reported a 3 per cent drop in half-year profit to $211 million.

Orica said on Tuesday that it expects full-year global explosives volumes to be "around 3.75 million tonnes" compared with previous guidance of 3.8 million to 4 million tonnes.

Despite the downgrade, Orica surged 3.5 per cent to $20.89.

Transpacific Industries crashed 9.6 per cent to 70¢ after chief executive Bob Boucher resigned from the waste handler for "personal reasons" after just 18 months in the job.

The nation's biggest waste management company said Mr Boucher will resign from the end of June 2015, with group chief financial officer Brendan Gill becoming acting chief executive.

Gold and base metal producer Independence Group has not ruled out reports it is running the ruler over Sirius Resources, confirming it is in acquisition mode but not yet ready to do a deal. Independence Group finished 0,3 per cent lower at $5.99 but Sirius jumped 5.1 per cent to $3.08.

In a break from tradition, Coca-Cola Amatil did not issue a trading update at its annual meeting in Sydney on Tuesday, but chief executive Alison Watkins said she was comfortable with profit targets unveiled late last year and was confident that earnings per share would stabilise in 2015 before returning to mid-single digit growth over the next few years. CCA jumped 4.3 per cent to $10.23.