Australia: Shares inch higher as financials advance
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AUSTRALIAN shares inched higher in volatile trade on Wednesday (Oct 12), with gains in financials outweighing losses in mining and energy stocks, while caution prevailed ahead of key US inflation data due later in the week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3 per cent at 6,662.7, as of 12.48 am GMT, after declining 0.2 per cent in early trade. The benchmark closed down 0.3 per cent on Tuesday.
Market participants across the world are looking forward to US inflation readings that are expected to show persistently strong price pressures and cement the Federal Reserve’s hawkish rhetoric on monetary policy.
Coronado Global Resources was among the top gainers on Australia’s benchmark stock index, rising 6.5 per cent to hit a four-month high after the coal miner confirmed that it was in talks with Peabody Energy regarding a potential merger.
Mining stocks, however, fell 0.8 per cent after iron ore prices dropped on Tuesday amid tightening Covid-19 restrictions in China. Mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto dipped 0.2 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively.
Financials rose as much as 1.2 per cent, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country’s biggest lender, gaining 1.4 per cent, while the remaining so-called “big four” banks climbed between 0.6 per cent and 2.2 per cent.
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Bank of Queensland jumped as much as 5.9 per cent and was poised for its biggest single-day gain since February last year, as the lender reported a rise in profit and declared higher dividend.
Energy stocks slumped 1.5 per cent, extending losses to a third session to hit a one-week low, as oil prices fell following a flare-up in Covid-19 cases in China.
Woodside Energy and Santos were down 2.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.
Healthcare and technology stocks were both down nearly 1 per cent, while real estate stocks added 0.2 per cent.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index slipped 0.6 per cent to 10,894. REUTERS
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