Australia: Shares inch higher ahead of US inflation data

[BENGALURU] Australian shares logged modest gains on Thursday (Feb 10), lifted by tech stocks and strong advances made by National Australia Bank on robust earnings, even as investors eyed US inflation data due later in the day for new clues on interest rate hikes.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.3 per cent higher at 7,288.50, maintaining a 3-day gaining streak. The benchmark had added 1.1 per cent on Wednesday.

Shares of the country's second-biggest lender, National Australia Bank, jumped 4.5 per cent after it reported a 9.1 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, driven by a growth in its home and business lending.

This drove financial stocks up 0.9 per cent in their third straight session of gains. The other 3 of "Big Four" banks firmed between 1.1 per cent and 1.2 per cent, while wealth manager AMP advanced 5.9 per cent on a jump in annual profit.

Australia-listed shares of Block climbed 9.7 per cent to lead a rally among the technology stocks, which added 2.6 per cent to become the top gainer in the benchmark. The sub-index also tracked a sharply higher overnight finish in the Wall Street indexes.

Network operator Megaport gained 7.6 per cent, while Xero advanced 0.5 per cent.

Damian Rooney, director of equity sales at Argonaut, said investors seemed to be in a wait-and-see mode today. "They are taking a little bit of money off the table subject to the United States' inflation data due tonight," he added.

Rooney also stressed that the end of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) bond-buying spree could also be affecting investor sentiment.

RBA stopped its quantitative easing campaign on Thursday after buying up more than A$350 billion (S$337 billion) in bonds as part of a massive pandemic stimulus package.

Among other sectors, miners advanced 0.7 per cent on the back of strong commodity prices, while healthcare stocks and energy stocks retreated 0.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended 0.2 per cent lower to finish the session at 12,413.05. REUTERS