Australia: Shares end higher as tech, bank stocks gain

[BENGALURU] Australian shares ended higher on Thursday (Nov 4) as gains in banks and tech stocks offset a slide in energy heavyweights, while the US Federal Reserve's plan to taper its bond purchases also boosted sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.5 per cent to 7,428 points at the close of trade. The benchmark climbed 0.9 per cent on Wednesday (Nov 3).

Major indexes on Wall Street clocked strong gains after the United States Federal Reserve said it would begin trimming its monthly bond purchases in November, with plans to end them in 2022.

That led the tech stocks to rise 1.2 per cent, with Appen gaining 3.2 per cent to lead gains on the index.

"Currently, investors can be satisfied that the Fed seems to be in no rush to get rid of the policy punch bowl," said Kunal Sawhney, CEO of equities research firm Kalkine Group. He added that changes in the economic outlook could prompt central banks to modify plans.

Gold stocks rose 0.5 per cent on stronger bullion, while financials added 1 per cent as Australia's "Big Four" banks advanced between 0.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent.

Insurer NIB Holdings led gains on both the benchmark index and financial index, rising 5.8 per cent, as its premium revenue rose in the first quarter.

Investors seemed to shrug off data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed that the country's retail sales for the third quarter fell 4.4 per cent and also missed a Reuters poll.

"A rebound is now evidently underway, given the high rates of vaccination that is propelling the Australian economy to reopen," Sawhney said.

Energy stocks fell 2 per cent, their worst session in over 6 weeks, following a slump in oil prices on concerns over increased global supply.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4 per cent to finish the session at 12,943.94 points.

REUTERS