Australia: Shares climb to 1-1/2-month high on miners, gold boost

AUSTRALIAN shares rose on Thursday to scale their highest levels since mid-September, buoyed by gold stocks and miners, although weak performances among financials limited gains as investors weighed the country’s hotter-than-expected inflation print.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3 per cent at 6,833.50 points, as of 2347 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.2 per cent higher on Wednesday.

Miners climbed 2.3 per cent and led gains on the local bourse even as global iron ore prices dropped overnight. BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals advanced between 1 per cent and 2.7 per cent.

Australian gold stocks surged 4 per cent and were on track to hit their highest levels since Oct 10, as bullion held its ground at a two-week high.

Shares of Newcrest Mining, the country’s largest gold miner, advanced 2.9 per cent and were poised to touch a three-week high on positive gold and copper production forecast for the December quarter.

Energy stocks climbed 2.4 per cent on the back of surging oil prices, with Woodside Energy and Santos rising 2.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

Financials dropped nearly 2 per cent, a day after data signaled Australia’s inflation raced to a 32-year high last quarter and stoked pressure for a return to more aggressive rate hikes by the central bank.

The ‘Big Four’ lenders fell between 1.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent.

Among individual stocks, Australian Clinical Labs slumped 10.2 per cent as its Medlab Pathology business suffered a data breach that affected about 223,000 accounts.

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Australia: Shares rise as investors shrug off dismal inflation data

Core Lithium slipped 8.9 per cent after the deadline to conclude a term sheet with Tesla Inc as part of a deal to supply the electric vehicle maker with spodumene concentrate had passed without an agreement.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was flat at 11,051.96 points.

The country’s central bank governor, Adrian Orr, said on Thursday that while the country was relatively well-positioned to meet challenges inflation remains too high. REUTERS