Australia shares reclaim 9,000-point mark on Rio Tinto, CSL boost
The index surpassed 9,000 points for the first time since mid-April
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AUSTRALIA’S benchmark stock index rose for a third straight session on Wednesday (Jul 29), reclaiming the 9,000-point mark as Rio Tinto’s results lifted miners, while gains in CSL provided further support.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.9 per cent to 9,028.00 points as of 0013 GMT, its highest since Mar 4, reclaiming the 9,000-point mark for the first time since mid-April.
Rio Tinto jumped as much as 5.3 per cent after the miner reported its highest half-year earnings in four years and declaring its biggest interim dividend since 2022.
The broader mining sub-index was up 1.2 per cent, with Rio Tinto’s peers BHP Group climbing 2.3 per cent and Fortescue adding 2.5 per cent.
Biotechnology firm CSL Group jumped as much as 7.7 per cent, its biggest gain since mid-February 2022, after saying it would begin trials of a new manufacturing process aimed at boosting immunoglobulin production.
The gains helped lift healthcare stocks 4.6 per cent to their highest level since Jul 10.
Attention now turns to the June-quarter inflation data due later in the day, which could shape expectations for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s August meeting.
Markets price a near-80 per cent chance that the central bank will hold rates steady in the upcoming meeting, and a higher than 50 per cent chance of a hike in November.
The financials sub-index advanced 0.3 per cent, its highest since April 16 with all “Big Four” banks up between 0.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent.
The energy sub-index gained 0.4 per cent.
Woodside Energy reported a 28 per cent climb in second-quarter revenue while narrowing its full-year production outlook after strong performance across its operations. Shares of the firm advanced 1.2 per cent.
Technology stocks tracked gains in overseas peers and rose 2.5 per cent. Shares of WiseTech Global advanced over 2 per cent while New Zealand-based Xero added over 4 per cent.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was nearly flat at 13,866.95 points. REUTERS
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