Australian shares on Thursday jumped to their highest in more than two weeks, boosted by mining stocks, while technology names tracked gains in their peers on Wall Street.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.9% to 7,114.1 by 2357 GMT, after adding 0.2% on Wednesday. US stocks rallied overnight, with all three major indexes ending up at least 1%, as upbeat outlooks from Micron Technology and other companies eased some worries about the country’s economic health.
In Sydney, mining stocks led the gains. The index climbed 1.6% to hit a near three-week high after iron ore prices jumped on optimism around steel demand in China.
Sector behemoths BHP Group, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue Metals added between 1.6% and 2.4%.
Financials rose 1%, with the “Big Four” banks trading 0.7%-1.4% higher.
Technology stocks jumped 1.5%, with ASX-listed shares of Block Inc and Xero adding 2.7% and 1.1%, respectively. Zip Co Ltd soared 12% to hit a more than five-week high.
The BNPL firm said it will divest its businesses in Central and Eastern Europe and South Africa, and is on track to shut down its operations in the Middle East.
Shares in healthcare and real estate companies also boosted the ASX200 with gains of 0.3%-0.7%.
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Asset manager HMC Capital, whose shares were yet to resume trading, said it will buy 11 private hospitals from US-based Medical Properties Trust for A$1.20 billion ($802.08 million). Bucking the broader trend, gold explorers fell 1%, underpinned by weaker bullion prices.
Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining dropped 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively.
Iress Ltd and Lake Resources were the top gainers on the ASX200. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.6% to 11,805.3 points.
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