Australian shares inched up on Wednesday, helped by the gains in financial and technology stocks, while commodity-related stocks fell as concerns about weak Chinese data and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rates stance weighed on sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% to 6,966 by 0040 GMT.
It fell 0.3% on Tuesday. China’s imports grew unexpectedly in October while exports contracted at a quicker pace, reflecting a bumpy economic recovery for the world’s second-largest economy.
Concerns grew as Fed policymakers considered need for more rate hikes to bring inflation to heel amid worries about higher US yields and economic growth.
In Sydney, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised its interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.35% on Tuesday, ending four months of steady policy.
Financials rebounded from Tuesday’s declines, adding 1%.
The “big four” banks also rose between 0.6% and 1.7%. Technology stocks also gained 1.7% to hit their highest level since Oct. 17.
Australia-listed shares of Block rose 3.3%, while Xero advanced 2.3%.
Gold stocks declined 2.2% tracking a weakening bullion and were set for their biggest loss since Oct. 3.
Australia shares snap five-day rally on hawkish RBA concerns
Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources fell 1.5%, each. Miners dropped 2.3% in their biggest decline in two weeks.
The sub-index tracked weak iron ore prices, after heavy consumer China’s state-backed bourse said it would limit trading volumes of futures contracts for steel-making item. Rio Tinto slid 3.2% and BHP Group slipped 2.9%.
Among individual companies, shares of James Hardie Industries jumped 13.3%, after the world’s largest fibre cement maker posted a record second-quarter profit due to higher selling prices and lower input costs.
The New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.7% to 11,144.41.
Sky Network Television said it terminated buyout discussions with a third-party, sending its shares down 4.9%.
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