Australia: Shares rise on miners, energy boost

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose on Friday, boosted by energy and mining stocks, with sentiment aided by a strong finish on Wall Street overnight.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.4 per cent by 0044 GMT. For the week so far, it is up 0.3 per cent.

Miners added 1 per cent, a day after dropping nearly 3 per cent, as it benefited from a rise in Chinese ironore futures. Global miner Rio Tinto jumped 2.3 per cent and Orocobre advanced 4.8 per cent.

World's largest miner BHP Group, which tumbled nearly 7 per cent on Thursday on ex-dividend trade, added more than 1 per cent.

Energy stocks rose as much as 1.8 per cent to hit a two-and-a-half-week high, underpinned by a rise in oil prices.

Major oil and gas explorer Santos and Woodside Petroleum gained 2 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively.

Supporting the jump in markets, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out record finishes on Wall Street as higher commodity prices aided energy stocks and the latest jobs data left investors unfazed about existing positions.

The heavyweight financials sub-index traded largely unchanged.

Healthcare stocks added 1 per cent, propelled by regenerative medicine company Mesoblast and laboratory services provider Sonic Healthcare.

Mesoblast has, however, sunk nearly 16 per cent this week, after the company reported a wider loss.

Sector heavyweight CSL added as much as 0.9 per cent.

Earlier this week, the state of Victoria joined New South Wales in abandoning a Covid-19-zero target, with both states now targeting rapid vaccinations after failing to quell an outbreak of the Delta variant, even after a weeks-long lockdown.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index slipped 0.1 per cent to snap a five-day winning streak. The benchmark, however, eyed its best week since early-June. SKY Network television was the top gainer on the index.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.44 per cent and S&P 500 E-minis futures were largely unchanged.

REUTERS