Australian shares ended at a more than three-week high on Monday, led by gains in commodity stocks and technology firms tracking a Wall Street rally, though AGL Energy tumbled after shelving its demerger plan.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.5% higher at 7,286.6, its highest since May 6, with all major sub-indexes in the black.
Leading gains, tech stocks rallied 4.6%, a three-week high after US peers jumped on Friday on optimism about a stable economy on signs of peaking inflation and consumer resiliency.
ASX-listed shares of Block and accounting software producer Xero climbed 10.9% and 5.2%, respectively. Globally, sentiment was boosted by better-than-expected US April consumer spending data last week indicating that inflation has peaked and China’s easing COVID-19 curbs.
The prospect of an eventual slowdown in the pace of US monetary tightening will likely benefit markets in the near future, said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking.
“I am seeing positivity come back into the (Australian) equity market and I think it is going to continue right up until the end of this year.” Export-reliant miners were also among the top gainers, climbing more than 2.2% on higher iron ore prices.
Sector giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group advanced between 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively. Financials rose 0.6%, with sector leaders National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corp adding 0.5% each.
By contrast, AGL Energy lost 1.7% after the power producer announced the resignation of its chairman and chief executive officer, saying it would not proceed with its planned demerger due to insufficient shareholder support.
Australian shares end volatile week higher
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 ended 0.7% higher at 11,145.5, posting its biggest jump since May 18.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s chief economist Paul Conway told Reuters the bank’s outlook for strongly rising interest rates this year could change, depending on economic indicators.
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