Australia: Shares rise as Omicron fears ease, commodity stocks rally

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose on Wednesday, led by mining and energy stocks on sharp rises in iron ore and oil prices, buoyed by hopes of limited disruption from the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.65 per cent to 7,361.4 by 2338 GMT, set for extending gains for a fourth straight session. The benchmark ended 0.95 per cent higher on Tuesday.

The gains also come a day after the central bank retained interest rates at 0.1 per cent, keeping the economy flush with cash to allow a full economic recovery from the pandemic.

Mining stocks rose as much as 2.2 per cent to hit a two-month high, after a strong rally in benchmark iron ore futures.

BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue all jumped between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent each.

Energy stocks advanced as much as 2.1 per cent after oil prices surged more than 3 per cent overnight, building on a nearly 5 per cent rise the previous day as Omicron fears eased.

Woodside Petroleum gained as much as 2.2 per cent, after the country's biggest independent oil and gas company said it would invest US$5 billion in new energy products to curb its emmissions.

The merger of oil majors Santos and Oil Search received the approval of Papua New Guinea's competition regulator, sending shares of the companies up as much as 4 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively.

Tech stocks jumped as much as 2.2 per cent in their best session in nearly two weeks, tracking a tech-powered rally on Wall Street.

Afterpay climbed as much as 4.5 per cent, while Xero and Wisetech Global gained 2.1 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was up 1.09 per cent to 12,747.24 by 2338 GMT.

REUTERS