Australian shares edge higher on mining boost, Fed in focus

Bank of Queensland

11/10/2023 07:06

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      ASX 200 logs fifth straight day of gains 
    

        * 
      Miners close at 3-week high 
    

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      Energy stocks rally for third straight day 
    

  
 (Updates to close)
    By Shivangi  Lahiri
       Oct 11 (Reuters) - Australian shares edged higher on
Wednesday, with the benchmark logging its fifth straight session
of gains, buoyed by domestic mining stocks on strong commodity
prices, while risk appetite improved on the expectations of the
U.S. Federal Reserve steering away from rate hikes. 
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  closed 0.7% higher to 7,088.4
points, logging a three-week high. 
    Interest rate jitters among market participants eased as
further remarks from the Fed's top official on Tuesday indicated
the central bank may not resort to increasing borrowing costs
further and that the policy in place was sufficiently
restrictive. 
    Meanwhile, higher interest rates are working in Australia to
cool demand and slow inflation, according to statements from a
top central banker. 
    Local miners  .AXMM  climbed 1% marking their highest since
Sept. 21 with BHP Group  BHP.AX , Rio Tinto  RIO.AX  and
Fortescue Metal  FMG.AX  each advancing between 1% and 1.7%. 
    The sub-index tracked rising metal and iron ore prices on
hopes of renewed demand from China, the country's largest
trading partner.  MET/L   IRONORE/ 
    Financials  .AXFJ  followed suit and jumped 0.4% with
National Australia Bank  NAB.AX  and ANZ Group  ANZ.AX  gaining
0.5% and 0.3%, respectively. 
    Bank of Queensland  BOQ.AX  marked its biggest percentage
drop in four months, losing nearly 7.5%, after the lender
declared a dividend cut on subdued annual profits.  
    "If rates stay on hold, (it) takes a lot of pressure off
banks and gives people more confidence to hold the banks," said
Brad Smoling, Managing Director of Smoling Stockbroking.
    Smoling also added that he sees the equity market "rallying"
in the fourth quarter of the year.
    Energy stocks  .AXEJ  rose 0.7%, tracking gains in oil
prices over possible supply disruptions pertaining to the
ongoing conflict in the Middle East.  O/R 
    Woodside Energy  WDS.AX  and Santos  STO.AX  advanced over
0.6%, each.  
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  rose 0.1%,
touching a two-week high. 
    Channel Infrastructure NZ  CHI.NZ  and Contact Energy
 CEN.NZ  topped gains on the benchmark adding 2.0%, each. 


 (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane
Venkatraman)
 ((shivangi.lahiri@thomsonreuters.com))
 
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