Australia: Shares recover on financial, tech boost

[BENGALURU] Australian shares on Thursday recovered slightly from the heavy sell-off in the previous session, with bank and technology stocks leading gains, though a drop in commodity prices weighed on miners and energy sectors.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3 per cent at 6,952.1 points by 0030 GMT. The benchmark shed 1.9 per cent on Wednesday, its lowest close in April 7.

IT stocks gained as much as 2.7 per cent, with buy-now-pay-later giant Afterpay rising 3.1 per cent and Appen surging for a second session after the artificial intelligence company announced restructuring plans.

EML Payments rose 15.4 per cent, and was the top gainer in the benchmark and the tech sub-index, a day after the payments solutions provider tumbled 50 per cent on fears of regulatory curbs on its Irish unit.

Financial stocks also saw gains, with the so-called "Big Four" banks trading in positive territory.

Miners were the biggest losers in the benchmark, dropping 2 per cent to hit a more than two-week low on the back of a drop in Chinese iron ore futures.

Global miners Rio Tinto and BHP dropped 1.7 per cent each.

Energy stocks also fell as crude shed US$2 on concerns over rising Covid-19 cases in Asia. Oil and gas explorers Santos and Woodside Petroleum slipped.

Healthcare stocks gained as much as 1.2 per cent and eyed their best session in one week, with biotech major CSL gaining 1.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, Qantas Airways jumped 3 per cent to be among top gainers in the index as the Australian carrier laid out more cost-cutting measures in an effort to weather the Covid-19 crisis.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.6 per cent to 12,354.56 points.

Investors turn their attention to the country's budget, due later in the day, where the government is expected to target its spending on tackling issues of rising homelessness and inequality.

REUTERS