Australian shares edge up on energy, banking gains; Fed meeting eyed

Tourism Holdings

16/06/2021 02:13

June 16 (Reuters) - Australian stocks inched higher on
Wednesday, helped by gains in energy and banking sectors, as
investors refrained from making big bets ahead of the outcome of
the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later in the day.
    The benchmark ASX 200 index  .AXJO  rose 0.2% to 7,390.7 by
0028 GMT.
    All eyes are on the U.S. central bank for its comments on
inflation and any potential change in its policy. Weak retail
sales and strong inflation data have stoked investors' hopes of
an indication towards potential tapering of policy support.
    Energy stocks  .AXEJ  rode a surge in oil prices that hit a
two-year high on expectations of a strong recovery in demand.
 O/R 
    The sub-index gained up to 2% to hit its highest in three
months, with oil producers Beach Energy  BPT.AX  and Oil Search
 OSH.AX  rising 2.6% and 2.9%, respectively.
    The country's "Big Four" banks gained, with the broader
financial index  .AXFJ  adding 0.6%.
    Tech stocks  .AXIJ , however, were the worst performers, as
they tracked U.S. peers lower. The sub-index dropped about 1.3%
to cap gains on the benchmark.
    Buy-now-pay-later giant Afterpay Ltd  APT.AX  fell 2%, while
software firm WiseTech Global  WTC.AX  lost 2.9%.
    Heavyweight mining stocks  .AXMM  fell nearly 1% on weaker
gold and copper prices. Copper miner OZ Minerals  OZL.AX  shed
4.9% to be top loser while gold-focused Evolution Mining
 EVN.AX  lost 1.4%.
    Gold stocks  .AXGD  fell about 0.6% amid weaker bullion
prices, with gold miners Northern Star  NST.AX  down nearly 1%,
and Newcrest Mining  NCM.AX  down 0.6%.  GOL/ 
    In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50  .NZ50  slid 0.3% to
12,659.3.
    In other markets, Japan's benchmark index Nikkei  .N225 
slipped 0.1% to 29,407.37, while the S&P 500 E-minis futures
 EScv1  were up 0.04%.

 (Reporting by Yamini C S 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 ))