Australia: Shares gain amid easing virus curbs; Crown Resorts jumps

[BENGALURU[ Australian shares advanced on Wednesday as risk sentiment improved on phased easing of coronavirus-driven lockdowns around the world, while Crown Resorts surged 12 per cent after Blackstone bought a stake in the casino operator.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4 per cent to 5,333.1 points by 0022 GMT.

All but two sub-sectors logged gains on the bourse, with heavyweight financial stocks adding 2.1 per cent and an index of energy stocks rising 2.5 per cent.

Shares of Crown Resorts topped gains on the benchmark as they rose to their highest since March 6 after the company said US private equity firm Blackstone bought a 9.99 per cent stake in the casino operator from Melco Resorts.

Investor confidence has been lifted in recent sessions as major countries and several US states reopen for business and central banks seem poised to inject more stimulus to offset the economic hit from the pandemic.

After the Bank of Japan announced further measures this week, the US Federal Reserve will issue a policy statement on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank meets Thursday.

Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.52 per cent, while Nasdaq lost 1.40 per cent, after a mixed bag of corporate earnings.

The Aussie dollar was 0.28 per cent weaker against the US dollar to A$0.65 on Wednesday.

Brent crude futures rose 1.76 per cent to US$20.82 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 8.35 per cent to US$13.37 per barrel.

Gold fell 0.09 per cent to US$1,706.00.

The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 545 while 324 declined as a 1.7-to-1 ratio favoured advancers. There were 58 new highs and 54 new lows.

Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4 per cent to 10,719.9 points.

REUTERS