Australia: Shares eye best week in three as US election results trickle in

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rallied on Friday and headed for their biggest weekly gain in three, as they tracked global equities on increased expectations that a divided US Congress could hurt plans for higher corporate taxes.

Gold and mining stocks propelled the S&P/ASX 200 index 0.5 per cent higher to 6,172.5 by 0008 GMT. For the week, it is poised to gain about 4.2 per cent.

Equity markets have gained this week despite uncertainty around the US presidential race, as investors hoped a mixed Congress during a possible Joe Biden presidency would make big policy changes hard to enact.

Mr Biden was edging closer to victory after winning Michigan and Wisconsin, but his Democratic Party appeared unlikely to win the Senate. That eased investor worries about tighter regulations on Big Tech and a corporate tax hike.

The gold index surged 4.5 per cent, its biggest one-day rise since June 22, as bullion prices rallied on a weaker dollar following growing prospects of a Biden win.

Top gold producer Newcrest Mining added 3.6 per cent and OceanaGold Corp climbed 6.8 per cent.

Underpinning positive sentiment in gold stocks, miners rose 2.1 per cent.

Financial stocks found support from investment bank Macquarie Group's first-half profit, which was ahead of its expectations. Its shares gained 3 per cent.

A subindex of tech stocks followed its US peers higher, led by WiseTech Global, up 3.8 per cent.

The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 964 while 390 declined as a 2.5-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed by its most in nearly a month, rising 1.2 per cent to 12,392.3.

Financials and utilities drove gains in the Wellington bourse, with dairy products maker Synlait Milk jumping as much as 11 per cent after settling a land dispute.

REUTERS