Australia: Shares gain on hopes of swift passage for US stimulus; tech stocks slide

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes of a swift passage of a US$1.9 trillion stimulus package by the US Congress, while tech stocks slid for the sixth straight session tracking overnight correction in Wall Street peers.

The S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.8 per cent to 6,791.3 by 2250 GMT. The benchmark ended 0.4 per cent higher on Monday.

The US technology-related shares were sold off overnight that pushed the Nasdaq into a correction, falling more than 10 per cent from its Feb 12 record high.

Investors are awaiting a quick passage of President Joe Biden's coronavirus stimulus bill by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, as it would boost liquidity into the markets.

Australian tech stocks fell as much as 3.1 per cent to a five-month low. Buy now, pay later firm Afterpay dropped as much as 8.7 per cent, while Xero lost 4.8 per cent.

Gold stocks fell 1.9 per cent as higher yields pushed bullion prices to a nine-month low. Bellevue Gold gave up 5.2 per cent, while Chalice Mining fell 3.9 per cent.

On the other hand, financial stocks rose as much as 1.6 per cent, with the "Big Four" banks gaining between 1.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent.

Perpetual Ltd advanced 3.4 per cent and Macquarie Group gained 2.5 per cent to become the top performers on the sub-index.

Fibre network owner Vocus Group jumped 8.6 per cent to top the benchmark index after it agreed to a scheme implementation deed with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and pension fund Aware Super.

Sentiment was also boosted after data showed that a measure of Australian business confidence rose to decade highs in February.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was up 0.1 per cent at 12,099.46.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday said the country will buy additional Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, which will be enough to vaccinate the whole country.

REUTERS