Australian shares close at record highs on miners boost

Argosy Property

04/08/2021 08:30

* Iron ore miners lead gains 
    * Afterpay ends two-day run of gains

 (Updates to close)
    By Yamini C S
    Aug 4 (Reuters) - Australian stocks closed at a record high
on Wednesday, boosted by miners after iron ore prices rose,
while shares of Afterpay paused after a two-day run of stellar
gains.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  ended up 0.4% at 7,503.2, with
miners  .AXMM  adding 1.3% as supply concerns lifted iron ore
prices.  IRONORE/ 
    Rio Tinto  RIO.AX , BHP Group  BHP.AX  and Fortescue Metals
Group  FMG.AX  climbed between 1.6% and 2.7%.
    "Miners and energy stocks are moving on reflation, with BHP
alone pushing the market up many points," Mathan Somasundaram,
CEO at Deep Data Analytics, said, adding that the market was
ignoring lockdowns and assuming more handouts by the government.
    Afterpay  APT.AX  fell 0.9%, snapping a two-day strong rally
that saw it add about 33% after it backed a $29 billion buyout
by Jack Dorsey's payments company Square  SQ.N .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2PB087
    Its smaller buy now, pay later peers also ended mixed, with
Zip Co Ltd  Z1P.AX  down 0.6% and Sezzle  SZL.AX  up 1.4%. Some
analysts expect the Afterpay deal to lead to consolidation in
the sector.
    Australia's so-called "Big Four" banks rose between 0.3% and
1.03%. 
    Energy stocks  .AXEJ  added 0.9%, led by top independent gas
producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd  WPL.AX . The company flagged a
5% increase in expected costs for its Scarborough.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2PA4VP
    In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  rose
0.8% to 12,797.29, with top performer a2 Milk Co  ATM.NZ  up
1.9%.
    The country posted a strong jobs data for the second
quarter, raising bets that monetary policy may be tightened this
month.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2PA2YM
    Air New Zealand  AIR.NZ  also said its fiscal 2022 loss
would be bigger than earlier expected due to suspension of a
quarantine-free travel arrangement with Australia.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2PA46Z

 (Reporting by Yamini C S and Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; editing
by Uttaresh.V)
 ((Yamini.CS@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
((For more information on DIARIES & DATA:
 U.S. earnings diary   RESF/US   
 Wall Street Week Ahead    .N/O 
 Global Economy Week Ahead  DATA/ 
................................................................
For latest top breaking news across all markets           NEWS1 ))