Australia: Financials lift shares on hopes of vaccine-led recovery

[BENGALURU] Australian shares ticked higher on Monday, with banks leading the gains on hopes of a vaccine-fuelled economic recovery as shipments of Covid-19 shot began in the United States.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3 per cent to end the session at 6,660.20. However, it pared early gains of up to 0.8 per cent as miners and healthcare firms weighed on the index.

Providing a positive lead for domestic equities, US stock futures gained 0.5 per cent in Asian trade as the delivery of shipments of Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine started in the United States.

"The index is following US futures higher with banks standing out as economy improves and life returns to normal," said Henry Jennings, senior analyst at Marcustoday Financial Newsletter.

The financials sector was the biggest boost to the benchmark, adding 1 per cent in its best session since Dec 1.

The "Big Four" banks gained between 0.4 per cent and 1.9 per cent.

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Tech stocks posted their biggest intraday gain session since Aug 25, led by Afterpay which jumped 8.8 per cent to close at an all-time high.

The increased buying interest in the buy-now-pay-later bellwether came after news that it was included in the ASX 20 and ASX 50 indexes.

The gains were, however, limited by losses in miners , energy stocks, and healthcare firms.

The healthcare sector has been under pressure after Australia halted its Covid-19 vaccine programme last week.

Biotech firm CSL, which was developing a vaccine with the University of Queensland, fell 1.7 per cent to its lowest level since Nov 2, marking its third session of losses.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index declined 0.7 per cent to finish the session at 12,835.12.

REUTERS