Australia: Shares rebound on commodity push

AUSTRALIAN shares were set to snap a three-day losing streak on Thursday, supported by mining and energy stocks as commodity prices edged up after concerns over global economic slowdown and China’s Covid-19 outbreaks appeared to ease. The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 1 per cent at 7,335.10, as of 0048 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.8 per cent lower on Thursday. Authorities in China, Australia’s largest trading partner, raced to stamp out a nascent outbreak and avert the debilitating city-wide lockdown that has shrouded Shanghai for a month. Investor sentiment was also lifted by data showing profits at China’s industrial firms grew at a faster pace in March from a year earlier. Australian miners rose 2.4 per cent and led the gains in the benchmark as iron ore and base metal prices rebounded. The sub-index was on track for its best day since March 22. Heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto were up 2.9 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively. Fortescue Metals Group rose 2.6 per cent after the miner raised its full-year forecast of iron ore shipments, while increasing capital estimate for its key Iron Bridge Magnetite project in Western Australia. Energy stocks climbed 1.5 per cent, tracking higher oil prices on concerns over tight worldwide supply. Financials and healthcare stocks edged up 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. Domestic gold stocks were the only losers in the benchmark as bullion prices fell to a two-month low. Sector major Newcrest Mining slipped 1 per cent even as it posted a 10 per cent sequential rise in its third-quarter gold output. In other news, AMP Ltd announced the sale of AMP Capital’s international infrastructure equity business for up to A$699 million (S$688.3 million), leaving it solely with banking, wealth and financial advice divisions. Shares of the embattled wealth manager were up 9 per cent. Australia’s No.2 supermarket chain Coles Group fell 0.4 per cent despite posting an uptick in third-quarter sales. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3 per cent to 11,764.26. REUTERS