Australian shares rose on Thursday, led by mining and energy stocks as global commodity prices firmed, though investors remained cautious about the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose around 0.4% to 7,541.7 by 1200 GMT. The benchmark ended up 0.7% on Wednesday.
Risk sentiment was, however, kept under check by concerns that looming inflationary pressures could potentially lead to derailment of economic recovery amid talks of rate hikes and cross-border tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Leading gains, miners jumped as much as 3% to hit a record high, supported by sustained firm iron ore prices on hopes of additional stimulus in China to battle its new surge in COVID-19 cases.
Sector heavyweights Rio Tinto Ltd, Fortescue Metals Group and BHP Group Ltd climbed between 2.7% and 3.8% Additionally, an uptick in Brent crude prices due to the possibility of more sanctions against Russia, pushed up local energy stocks as much as 1.8% to post their biggest intraday jump in a week.
Index majors Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Beach Energy firmed around 1.3% and 2.5%, respectively. Gold stocks also edged up about 1%, as market players flocked the safe-haven asset over renewed doubts on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, with Newcrest Mining Ltd rising nearly 1%.
Bucking the trend, technology stocks slumped 1.5%, tracking their US peers on the Nasdaq Composite Index, with Xero Ltd and WiseTech Global Ltd losing about 2.7% and 1%, respectively.
Australia shares gain on progress in Russia-Ukraine talks, China stimulus hopes
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell about 0.4% to 12,043.5, with Air New Zealand hitting a nearly two-year low, after it announced plans to raise $1.53 billion to help position its recovery on Wednesday.
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