The Australian market finished session higher after recovering earlier losses on Wednesday, 24 March 2021, buoyed by healthcare and Tech stocks, as a weaker local currency boosted the export-reliant sector. However, market gains capped amid concerns over the world's recovery from the pandemic.
At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 added 33.37 points, or 0.49%, to 6,778.77. The broader All Ordinaries rose 27.25 points, or 0.39%, to 7,013.85.
Health care, consumer discretionary and consumer staples were among the best performers, up 1.87%, 1.09% and 1.14% respectively. Energy led declines, down 0.86%.
Healthcare stocks finished broadly higher. CSL rose 1.9% to close at a three-week high, while hearing implant maker Cochlear added 3.7%.
Technology stocks advanced, with buy-now-pay-later company Xero hitting a three-week high after acquiring Swedish e-invoicing firm Tickstar.
Miners ended mostly higher, with Rio Tinto climbing 1.8%, while gold miners Evolution Mining and Newcrest rose about 1%.
Financial stocks also climbed, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia gaining 1.9%.
Westpac Banking fell about 1% after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand ordered the bank to conduct independent reviews and hold additional liquid assets due to problems with its risk governance and liquidity risk management.
Energy shares declined after crude oil prices sank overnight. Origin Energy, Beach Energy, Oil Search and Woodside Petroleum fell 1-3%. Santos dropped 1.5% after the oil and gas explorer said it expects to make a final investment decision on its Barossa project in the coming weeks.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Manufacturing Sector Climbs To 57.0 In March- Australia manufacturing sector continued to expand in March, with a manufacturing PMI score of 57.0, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Wednesday. That's up from 56.9 in February and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The uptick was supported by quicker increases in factory orders and employment, while production growth eased marginally from February. Australia's services PMI came in at 56.2, up sharply from 53.4 in February, while the composite index had a score of 56.2 - up from 53.7 in the previous month.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7601 after declining yesterday from above $0.768, as investors abandoned bets on higher interest rates domestically, while tighter coronavirus lockdowns in Europe pushed bond yields down globally.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU