Australia: Shares edge higher in choppy trade on commodity gains
AUSTRALIAN shares edged up in choppy trade on Monday, with a rise in energy and gold stocks offsetting losses from the banking and tech indexes, while investors awaited a central bank rate decision to combat pressures from soaring inflation.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose about 0.1 per cent by 0100 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.3 per cent lower on Friday, and posted its worst weekly drop since mid-June.
A cooling US labour market report has not deterred market participants from expecting a 75 basis point hike from the Federal Reserve to temper soaring inflationary pressures.
Moreover, local investors are awaiting the cash rate decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday, where it is expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points for the fourth consecutive time, according to a Reuters poll, to combat inflation which had hit a two-decade high.
Energy stocks led the gains for the day, climbing as much as 3 per cent in their best session in almost a week tracking higher Brent crude prices ahead of a Opec meeting, with Woodside Energy and Santos rising 2.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent.
Miners, too, rose 1.2 per cent, with the mining giants such as Rio Tinto and BHP Group and gaining 1.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent, despite weak steel demand sentiment from China.
Gold stocks jumped almost 2 per cent, their biggest rise in more than a week, as sentiment for the precious metal rebounded due to a weaker dollar, with sector majors like Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources gaining 0.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.
However, financials dropped about 0.4 per cent, with the “Big Four” banks losing in the range of 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent, while the domestic technology stocks lost nearly 0.7 per cent.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.1 per cent to 11,612.5. REUTERS
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