Australian shares end higher on Wall St strength, rate-hike pause bets

Nufarm

18/05/2023 08:02

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      ASX200 closes 0.5% higher
    

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      Miners up 1.2%, tech rises 2.9%, gold down 1.1%
    

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      Beach Energy down 4.3%
    

  
 (Updates to close)
    By Ayushman Ojha
       May 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed higher on
Thursday, tracking strong overnight gains on  Wall Street, while
an unexpected dip in the country's employment for April
reinforced bets of a pause in rate hikes by the central bank at
its meeting next month. 
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  gained 0.5% to close at
7,236.80 points. The benchmark ended 0.5% lower on Wednesday.
    Employment unexpectedly dipped in April, and the jobless
rate also ticked up in a sign the red-hot labour market might be
cooling, bolstering the case for a pause in rate hikes next
month, Australian Bureau of Statistics' data showed on Thursday.
    "It has been a second softer day of economic data, showing
the labour market is cooling. This does not mean that there
won't be more rate hikes coming potentially in July or August,
but at least for the short term, data that came out does reduce
some of the risks of RBA raising rates again," said Tony
Sycamore, analyst at IG Australia.
    Meanwhile, U.S. stocks rose sharply on Wednesday, fuelled by
optimism over a potential deal on the $31.4 trillion federal
debt ceiling.  .N 
    In Sydney, miners  .AXMM  finished 1.2% higher.
    Nufarm Ltd  NUF.AX  was the top gainer on the benchmark
after rising 14.2% on higher half-year profit.
    Technology stocks  .AXIJ  advanced 2.9%, tracking gains from
U.S. tech-heavy Nasdaq. Xero Ltd  XRO.AX  rose 8.9% to hit a
one-year high after posting strong annual earnings.
    Among individual stocks, Beach Energy Ltd  BPT.AX  fell 4.3%
after it warned of delays in constructing the Waitsia Gas plant.
    Heavyweight financials sub-index  .AXFJ  gained 0.7%, with
so-called 'big four' banks up between 0.2% and 0.9%
    Gold stocks  .AXGD  inched 1.1% lower as U.S. debt-ceiling
talks chipped away at the metal's safe-haven appeal. Newcrest
Mining  NCM.AX  lost 1%.
     New Zealand announced a worse-than-forecast budget deficit
as a slowing economy and a lower tax take hit at its coffers. 
    The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  rose 0.2%, to close
at 11,976.08.

 (Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru)
 ((Ayushman.Ojha@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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