Australia: Shares rebound, gain 1% as investors absorb Omicron shock

[BENGALURU] Australian shares gained 1 per cent on Tuesday, recovering from sharp losses in the two prior sessions on concerns over the new Omicron coronavirus variant, with banks and miners boosting the benchmark index to its best day since early October.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 1 per cent at 7,310.5 by 2355 GMT. The benchmark had lost 0.5 per cent on Monday after a 1.7 per cent drop on Friday.

The benchmark, however, is down 0.26 per cent so far this month, and is set for its third consecutive monthly loss.

Heavyweight banking stocks were the top boosts to the benchmark, rising as much as 1.6 per cent as the local currency recovered from the blows of Omicron fears.

Lender Westpac Banking Corp jumped as much as 1.7 per cent, even as the securities regulator filed six civil penalty proceedings against it for various compliance failures.

The country's banking regulator after market hours on Monday published a set of rules requiring banks to hold more capital against investor and interest-only home loans but less for business loans, which is expected to affect loan pricing.

Miners advanced up to 1.2 per cent after a bounceback in iron ore prices. Major miners BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group climbed between 0.9 per cent and 2.1 per cent each.

Tech stocks climbed as much as 1.5 per cent, tracking a rebound on Wall Street, as heavyweights Afterpay and Xero rose as much as 1 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively.

Among healthcare stocks, biotech firm CSL gained 1.3 per cent and ASX-listed shares of Resmed Inc was up 1.7 per cent.

Australia on Monday delayed the reopening of its international borders after it reported two cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant just as it was gearing up to reopen its border to foreign visa holders on Dec 1.

Across the Tasman sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.74 per cent to 12,623.98 by 2342 GMT.

REUTERS