The Australian share market finished higher for the first time in three straight sessions on Wednesday, 28 April 2021, as investors chased for bargain hunting in recently battered stocks, thanks to surprisingly weak inflation figures that fading prospect of an interest rate hike before 2024.
At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 added 30.84 points, or 0.44%, to 7,064.67. The broader All Ordinaries rose 24.47 points, or 0.34%, to 7,320.01.
All ASX sectors finished in the green, exception being materials which fell 0.9%. Property was the top performer, up 1.5%, followed by financials which climbed 1.1%. Energy and health care also experienced notable gains.
Woodside Petroleum and Santos rose over 1%, tracking gains in oil prices overnight. Viva Energy jumped 3% to extend gains from the previous session after the fuel supplier said it is making strong progress on its business recovery program.
Lender Westpac advanced 1.2% after it agreed to settle a class action over life insurance launched by Shine Lawyers.
The other three big banks rose between half a% and 1.1% on easing concerns of an earlier than expected interest rate hike after quarterly inflation data came in under expectations.
Ansell (ANN) finished up 3.9%, noting it is continuing to experience strong demand for its Personal Protective Equipment. ANN expects 2H sales growth to be better than the 24.5% lift in 1H.
Airtasker (ART) closed 7.8% higher after upgrading its FY21 guidance this morning. Property group Mirvac (MGR) finished 3.1% higher, raising its FY21 earnings and distribution forecasts. MGR said it will return JobKeeper payments made in FY21.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Q1 Consumer Prices Climb 0.6% On Quarter- Australia consumer prices were up 0.6% on quarter in the first quarter of 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. On a yearly basis, inflation gained 1.1%, up from 0.9% in the previous three months. The Reserve Bank of Australia's trimmed mean was up 0.3% on quarter and 1.1% on year - slowing from 0.4% on quarter and 1.2% on year in the previous quarter.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was at $0.7745 after yesterday's decline from around $0.78.
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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