Australia: Shares end higher, enjoy best day in nearly 5 months

AUSTRALIAN shares closed higher on Monday (Jun 27), recording their best day in nearly 5 months, as firm commodity prices powered mining stocks and investors bought stocks that witnessed a sell-off recently.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.9 per cent higher at 6,706 points — its biggest 1-day gain since Jan 28. The benchmark also rose for a third straight day.

Most sub-indexes rose, marking widespread improvements that could be a case of bargain hunters taking advantage of heavy selling that the market has recently underwent, said Steven Daghlian, a market analyst at CommSec.

The mining index jumped 1.6 per cent to snap a 3-day losing streak, as iron ore prices firmed. BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals advanced 2.4 to 3.5 per cent.

Among other individual sectors and shares, financials climbed 2.6 per cent to a near 2-week high. The country’s “big four” lenders added between 2.3 and 4 per cent.

Gold stocks were the sole laggards on the benchmark, down 7.4 per cent to their lowest in more than 2 years.

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Australia: Shares extend gains as financials, miners advance

Evolution Mining was the biggest loser on the sub-index, plunging 21.9 per cent and marking its worst day since December 2011, after the company cut its fiscal 2022 gold production forecast.

Separately, share registry firm Link Administration rose 4.1 per cent, even as Canada’s Dye & Durham lowered its takeover offer by nearly a quarter to A$2.21 billion (S$2.12 billion).

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 ended 1.7 per cent higher at 10,997.92 points — its best session since Mar 17 as flag carrier Air New Zealand and dairy firm a2 Milk rallied. REUTERS