Australia: CSL drags shares lower, tech stocks rise

[BENGALURU] Australian shares inched lower on Thursday, as index heavyweight CSL led healthcare stocks lower following a discounted equity raising while tech heavyweights tracked their US peers higher.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.1 per cent to 7,313.4 by 2358 GMT, down for a third straight session.

Shares of CSL dropped as much as 8.8 per cent to A$271.14 and were on track for their worst session since March 23, 2020 as trading resumed after a two-day trading halt.

CSL, the country's fourth-biggest company by market value, completed a A$6.3 billion (S$6.17 billion) equity raise to fund its US$11.7 billion Vifor Pharma AG deal. The issue price represented an 8.2 per cent discount to Monday's close.

Healthcare stocks fell 5.1 per cent and were headed for their worst session since March 2020.

Tech stocks rose 2 per cent, set for their best session in more than a year, tracking the Nasdaq's strong finish overnight after the US Federal Reserve said it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March amid rising inflation.

Wisetech Global climbed 4.6 per cent to lead gains on the sub-index, while sector major Afterpay was up 3.4 per cent

Financials were up 0.5 per cent, with the big four banks gaining between 0.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent.

In other major corporate news, Qantas flagged a first-half loss owing to months of lockdowns. Its shares fell 2.1 per cent and extended losses to a seventh session.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark stock index fell 0.2 per cent to 12,847.59. The country's gross domestic product shrank 3.7 per cent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, the second largest decline on record, as the economy was hit by an outbreak of the Delta variant of Covid-19.

REUTERS