Australia, New Zealand shares rise tracking Wall Street on stimulus boost

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose on Friday, following record gains on Wall Street overnight, as US president Joe Biden embraced an infrastructure deal that is expected to drive the next leg of recovery in the world's largest economy.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.4 per cent at 7,304.80 by 0041 GMT, after falling 0.3 per cent in the previous session.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.7 per cent and S&P 500 E-minis futures were up 0.09 per cent Investors are awaiting a $1.2 trillion bipartisan bill, and President Biden overnight declared "we have a deal", sending US shares rallying with large construction firms gaining most.

Closer home, gains were relatively muted, as Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported a double-digit rise in new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 for the fourth straight day, as it battles a fresh outbreak.

Miners rose the most on the benchmark, up 1.3 per cent, extending gains for a fourth straight session. Mining heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto gained as much as 1.2 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.

Lithium producer Pilbara Minerals saw its stock hit a record high, jumping nearly 4 per cent, after the company said its board had approved a staged restart of its Ngungaju plant in Western Australia during the December quarter.

Gold stocks jumped 1.4 per cent, with the country's largest listed gold miner Newcrest Mining advancing as much as 1.6 per cent.

Financials climbed more than 0.9 per cent, snapping a two-day losing streak, as the so-called "Big Four" banks gained.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, National Australian Bank and Westpac Banking Corp about 1 per cent each.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2 per cent to 12,617.48, recording its fourth consecutive week of gains.

Dairy producer A2 Milk Company was the top gainer on the bourse, up 3.1 per cent.

REUTERS