Australia: Energy, mining help shares notch fifth straight gain

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose for a fifth straight session on Thursday (Mar 3), driven by mining and energy stocks on back of strong commodity prices, and as global equities rebounded after the US Federal Reserve chairman assuaged worries about aggressive rate hikes.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.5 per cent higher at 7,151.4, rising 2.3 per cent since its near 3 per cent drop on Feb 24.

Broader Asian stock markets eked out gains, following Wall Street after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said rates would likely be raised by only 25 basis points this month, and the war in Ukraine had made the outlook "highly uncertain".

"There's a quite what we would call a relief rally in the market," said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking.

Miners led the gains in Australia, climbing 2.9 per cent as iron ore futures were buoyed by growing hopes of improved demand in China after reports of a possible easing of Covid-19 curbs in the world's top steel producer.

Iron ore behemoths BHP and its rival Rio Tinto climbed 3.6 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively.

Energy stocks soared 2.6 per cent, hitting their highest since February 2020, after oil prices surged above US$116 a barrel as trade disruption and shipping issues from Russian sanctions over the Ukraine crisis sparked supply worries.

Sector majors Woodside Petroleum and Santos rose 3 per cent and 1.7 per cent to scale their pre-Covid levels.

"ASX will hold very well going through the volatility, simply because we've got a big resource and energy and commodity sector," Smoling said.

In other news, authorities in Australia issued more orders for people to leave their homes after heavy rain triggered flash floods in its largest city, with officials warning of worse to come.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 1 per cent higher at 12,211.4. REUTERS