Australian shares end higher as Omicron fears ease; post third monthly loss

Credit

30/11/2021 06:30

* Collins Foods top gainer on ASX200
    * Miners lead gains on the local bourse 
    * NZX 50 rises 1.5% 

 (Updates to close)
    By Riya Sharma
    Nov 30 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed higher on
Tuesday as concerns about the Omicron coronavirus variant eased
further, although the benchmark index posted a third straight
monthly loss.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  ended 0.22% higher at 7,256,
after climbing 1% in early trade — the biggest since
early-October​. For the month, the benchmark shed 0.9%. 
    Travel stocks rebounded after two days of heavy selling, as
hopes that the new variant might be milder than initially feared
boosted investor sentiment.
    Airline operator Qantas Airways  QAN.AX  climbed 4.1% to
mark its best day in over three weeks, while online travel
websites Flight Centre Travel Group  FLT.AX  and Webjet  WEB.AX 
jumped 6.7% and 6.2%, respectively.
    "Investors have kept aside concerns over the impact of the
new coronavirus variant on the economic recovery and are
cautiously optimistic while waiting for more details on
Omicron," said Kunal Sawhney, CEO of Kalkine Group said. 
    The country's economy also showed signs of strength, with
Australia's current account surplus increasing A$1 billion in
the September quarter to a record A$23.9 billion ($16.98
billion), thanks to iron ore and coal prices.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SL01F
    "Robust prices for exports of coal and other mineral fuels
helped the nation observe a record surplus, however, the road
ahead to economic revival seems bumpy as the new variant
heightens concerns around global growth," said Sawhney.
    Fast-food chain operator Collins Foods  CKF.AX  led gains on
the local bourse, rising 13.8% to a record high after reporting
upbeat first-half results.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2SL0VQ
    Major miners  .AXMM  rose 0.27% as Chinese iron ore futures
extended their rally, with BHP Group  BHP.AX  jumping 2.1% to
its highest in more than two months.  IRONORE/ 
    Lithium miner Orocobre  ORE.AX  scaled 9.7% to a record high
after a production upgrade at its annual general meeting.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2SL11G
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  rose 1.5%
to finish at 12,718.9. 


($1 = 1.4077 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
 ((Riya.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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