Australia: Shares jump 1% on banking, energy boost

[BENGALURU] Australian shares gained 1 per cent on Monday, lifted by banking, energy and healthcare stocks, as investors looked past a weak previous session on Wall Street amid uncertainties surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 1 per cent at 7,135.30 by 2322 GMT. The benchmark had lost 0.9 per cent on Friday.

Uncertainty about the conflict in Ukraine has heightened supply concerns, boosting commodity prices and helping mining and energy stocks, while banks found respite as hopes rose that the US Federal Reserve will hike interest rates later this week.

Top boosts to the benchmark, banks, added 1.5 per cent to hit their highest level in more than two weeks, with all the "Big Four" lenders advancing between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.

Energy stocks jumped as much as 1.5 per cent even as oil prices fell on Sunday at start of the session.

Australia's top fuel supplier Ampol Ltd gained 2.7 per cent on sale of its New Zealand-based petroleum distribution business Gull for enterprise value of NZ$572 million (S$531.3 million).

Healthcare firms added as much as 2.1 per cent, with biotech giant CSL jumping 2 per cent and Sonic Healthcare adding 1.4 per cent.

In-vitro fertilisation services provider Virtus Health soared as much as 7 per cent after accepting a sweetened A$704.8 million (S$701.4 million) takeover offer from London-based CapVest Partners.

Miners were up 0.3 per cent as iron ore futures and aluminium rose on Friday on supply concerns.

Iron ore giants BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group rose between 0.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 0.1 per cent at 11,806.56.

New Zealand's economic growth in the fourth quarter is expected to be 5.8 per cent, according to a Reuters poll, higher than prior quarter's 4.9 per cent rise, indicating a solid growth during the final three months of last year. REUTERS