Australia: Shares rise as easing Omicron fears support commodities

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose on Monday, helped by energy and mining stocks, as commodity prices strengthened amid easing concerns about the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant on global economic growth.

The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5 per cent to 7,388 by 1237 GMT, rebounding from a 0.4 per cent drop on Friday.

Energy stocks climbed 1.6 per cent, tracking a near 1 per cent jump in oil prices in early Asian trading. Beach Energy and Woodside Petroleum added 1.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, to lead gains on the sub-index.

Coal-seam gas producer Senex Energy gained nearly 3 per cent after it agreed to be acquired by South Korea's POSCO International in a A$852.1 million deal.

Mining stocks benefited from upbeat growth sentiment as they rose 1.4 per cent. Global miners Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue gained between 1.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent.

Property investor Charter Hall advanced 4.7 per cent and was among the biggest gainers on the benchmark after it hiked its annual earnings guidance for the second time in two months.

Broader sentiment was also supported by a strong finish on Wall Street on Friday, after data showed US consumer inflation, which hit a more than 39-year peak, was still in line with market consensus.

Markets have been bracing for quicker-than-expected interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve if inflation continues to heat up.

In New Zealand, the benchmark bourse fell 0.2 per cent to 12,834.88. Pushpay Holdings and Serko gave up about 2 per cent each to lead losses on the index.

REUTERS