Australian shares rose more than 1% on Friday, reversing weekly losses as markets joined a rebound in global equities on easing concerns about overly aggressive interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 1.1% higher at 7,182.70, with mining and energy stocks leading the gains. For the week, it added 0.5% in its second straight weekly rise.
Deep Data Analytics’ chief executive officer and founder, Mathan Somasundaram, attributed the rise in markets to macro global trade and month-end window dressing.
Australian shares subdued as tech, healthcare offset mining gains
Asian shares extended overnight global gains as investors weighed the possibility of a slowdown in policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve later in the year after aggressive interest rate hikes in the next few months.
Mining stocks rose 1.6% and led gains on the domestic bourse. Heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto rose 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively.
Energy stocks rose 2.3% and recorded their first weekly gain in six on strong crude prices.
Sector leaders Woodside Energy Group and Santos rose 3.6% and 1.1%, respectively, on Friday. Oil prices hovered around a two-month high, supported by the prospect of an EU ban on Russian oil and the coming summer driving season in the United States. Financials firmed 1.1%, with the
“Big Four” banks rising between 0.4% and 1.1%. Technology stocks rose 1.2% but posted a 3.4% loss for the week. Gold stocks fell 0.3% and were the only losers on the benchmark.
Meanwhile, Australian retail sales climbed to record highs in April as consumers spent big for the holidays, showing resilience in the face of soaring inflation and cementing fears about further interest rate hikes.
Somasundaram suggested markets should be stable next week before the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy meeting on June 7 starts testing the market the week after.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3% to 11,065.15, shedding 1.8% for the week.
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