Australian shares gain modestly as commodities support
Australian shares rose on Monday and hovered below the important 8,000-level as commodities fueled a slight recovery in the benchmark index after a selloff in the previous session amid market uncertainty.
As of 2341 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2% to 7963.8. The benchmark index fell 1.8% on Friday to close below 8,000 for the first six-month period, amid uncertainty about global trade.
Energy stocks gained nearly 1% in tandem with a recovery of crude oil prices after U.S. president Donald Trump warned about sanctions against Russia, a major oil producer, raising fears over possible disruptions to commodity's supply chains.
Woodside Energy, a major oil and gas company, gained 0.9% while its smaller rival Santos increased by 0.5%.
Financials benchmarks gained 0.4 but are still recovering from the Friday sell-off of Australian banks.
The top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.3%, while its smaller rival National Australia Bank dropped 0.2%.
Mining stocks rose 0.3% on the back of recovering iron ore, and a jump of 1.3% in Rio Tinto, the iron giant, more than offset Fortescue’s 2.2% decline.
Real estate stocks also rose by 0.4%, but consumer staples gained 0.7%.
Gold stocks rose 0.4% as investors continued to flock to the safe haven commodity due to lower than expected monthly job growth in the United States.
The gold mining company Northern Star Resources has gained 0.4% which is more than enough to offset Evolution Mining’s 1% decline.
The technology stocks rose 0.1% on Friday, following Wall Street's gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reassured investors about the strength of the U.S. economic system.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the United States rose by 0.52% to 42,801.72 points on Friday. S&P 500 rose 31.68 points, while Nasdaq gained 0.7%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 gained 0.1% to reach 12,402.83, boosted a 3.2% increase in the local dairy giant Fonterra. Fonterra raised its earnings projection for the year due to strong performance in their consumer operations.
(source: Reuters)
