Australia: Mining and energy stocks push shares higher

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose on Monday, extending gains into a fifth straight session, as mining stocks rose and strong oil prices lifted energy shares.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.6 per cent at 7462.6 points in early trade. The benchmark closed flat on Friday.

S&P 500 E-minis futures were down 0.27 per cent.

Australia's energy sub-index was the biggest mover by sector, rallying 1.3 per cent to snap a four-day losing streak.

Beach Energy gained the most on the sub-index, rising 2.9 per cent, followed by Woodside Petroleum, up 1.7 per cent.

Origin Energy rose as much as 3.3 per cent after announcing the sale of a 10 per cent stake in the Australia Pacific LNG project for A$2.12 billion (S$2.13 billion).

Australian miners rose 0.4 per cent, boosted by news from lithium and iron ore miner Mineral Resources on the restart of its Wodgina Lithium Mine.

Mineral Resources was also the top gainer on the benchmark index, rising as much as 7.2 per cent. The major miners, Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals gained between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent.

At the other end of the benchmark, tech stocks fell 1.2 per cent, tracking Wall Street stocks lower.

AI firm Appen was the biggest loser on the sub-index, down 3.1 per cent. Sector heavyweight buy now pay later firm Afterpay dropped 2.7 per cent.

Telstra Corp gained as much as 1.6 per cent after agreeing to buy the Pacific operations of telecom firm Digicel Group in a US$1.6 billion deal.

Broader investor sentiment was boosted by news Covid-19 curbs in Melbourne, the world's most locked-down city, will be eased further in coming days as Victoria state reaches targeted vaccination rates.

Markets in New Zealand were closed for a holiday.

REUTERS