Australia: Shares climb as US aid bill passage boosts sentiment

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose on Tuesday, notching broad-based gains after Wall Street stock indexes hit record highs overnight on the passage of a long-awaited US pandemic aid bill, lifting sentiment and spurring hopes for an economic recovery.

The S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.6 per cent to 6,706.9 by 11.47pm GMT, with trading volumes less than a tenth of the 30-day average after a Christmas holiday-extended weekend. The benchmark had risen 0.3 per cent on Dec 24.

US indexes got a boost from President Donald Trump's signing of the US$2.3 trillion aid bill, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting a federal government shutdown.

The energy sub-index rose more than 1 per cent despite a dip in oil prices, with sector heavyweight Woodside Petroleum adding 2.5 per cent while the smaller Beach Energy rose 4 per cent.

Financial stocks also rose, with the country's "Big Four" lenders adding between 0.8 per cent and 1.4 per cent. Investment managers Pendal Group and IOOF Holdings were among top performers for the session, up 1.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

Technology stocks also jumped, with buy-now-pay-later company Afterpay gaining most among them with an 1.9 per cent rise.

Healthcare stocks, which are favoured for their defensive nature during uncertain times, played laggard with a 0.2 per cent rise. Biotechnology company CSL inched up 0.3 per cent.

Gold stocks bucked the trend to ease 0.6 per cent, as investors shifted holdings out of safe-havens and towards riskier investments amid hopes of improving economic prospects.

Sector heavyweight Newcrest Mining shed 0.9 per cent.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.9 per cent to hit a record high at 13,152.39. Power producer Meridian Energy was the session's top performer, adding more than 4 per cent.

REUTERS