Australia shares up on fewer new virus cases, NZ rises to 6-month high

Argosy Property

18/08/2020 02:21

* Gold stocks set for best session in two weeks
    * Westpac Banking Corp biggest percentage laggard on the
local
benchmark
    * New Zealand benchmark at its highest in nearly six months

    By Deepali Saxena
    Aug 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares gained on Tuesday after
the country's second most populous state reported its lowest
daily rise in new COVID-19 infections in a month.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  rose 0.4% to 6,096.8 points by
0042 GMT, from a 0.8% drop in the last session.
    Victoria recorded 17 coronavirus deaths in the last 24
hours, down from 25 a day earlier, stoking hopes that a second
wave of infection in the state is easing.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2FJ441
    Further boosting the morale, Australia's biggest biotech
company CSL  CSL.AX , said it was in talks with AstraZeneca
 AZN.L  to determine if the potential COVID-19 vaccine being
developed by the British drugmaker could be manufactured
locally.
    Leading the rally, gold stocks  .AXGD  jumped over 3%,
extending gains into the fourth session as the yellow metal
touched its highest in nearly a week.  GOL/ 
    Evolution Mining  EVN.AX  climbed to its highest since July
23 as the gold miner resumed operations at its Red Lake Gold
Mine in Canada which were temporarily suspended on Aug. 12
following a nearby forest fire.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2FJ0OX
    The tech sub-index  .AXIJ  added 1.6%, taking leads from an
overnight strong rally on Wall Street.  .N 
    Shares of sub-index heavyweights, Afterpay  APT.AX  and Xero
 XRO.AX  surged over 2.5% each.
    Mining stocks  .AXMM  gained 1.5% as the Dalian benchmark
contract extended gains into a third session on upbeat demand
prospects in top steel producer China.  IRONORE/ 
    BHP Group  BHP.AX  eked out gains of nearly 0.1% even as the
world's largest listed miner reported a lower-than-expected
annual profit and also warned of a slowing economic growth
outside China.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2FJ3X6
    Among the losers, Financials  .AXFJ  dropped 1.3% to mark
their worst session in more than a week.
    The country's second biggest lender, Westpac Banking Corp
 WBC.AX  fell 3.7% as it scrapped interim dividend citing
ongoing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2FJ3T6
    Supported by healthcare and real-estate stocks, the New
Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50 , advanced 1.4% to
its highest since Feb. 24.
    Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp  FPH.NZ  climbed 6% to a
record high, while Argosy Property  ARG.NZ  jumped over 4%.

 (Reporting by Deepali Saxena; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((Deepali.Saxena@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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