Australia ASX200 rises to fresh all-time highs

The Australian share market finished session higher on Monday, 02 August 2021, recouping the losses of the previous session, as investors chased for bottom fishing after release of better than expected manufacturing data. However, the market upside was limited amid continued concerns about the rapid spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants in New South Wales.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 advanced 98.77 points, or 1.34%, to 7,491.40. The broader All Ordinaries increased 96.31 points, or 1.26%, to 7,760.50.

All 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Information Technology was the best performing sector, gaining +6.54%, followed by healthcare (up 1.58%), consumer staples (up 1.56%), energy (up 1.49%), and consumer discretionary (up 1.34%) sectors.

Shares of Afterpay in Australia soared more than 20% after U.S. fintech firm Square announced it had agreed to buy the buy now, pay later giantin an all-stock deal worth about $29 billion.

Shares of Oil Search and Santos gained after a merger between ASX energy giants is back on the cards, with Santos returning to the bargaining table with an improved offer.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia AiG Manufacturing Sector Continues To Expand In July - Australia manufacturing sector continued to expand in July with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 60.8, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed on Monday. That's down from 63.2 in June, although it remains well above the boom-or-but line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. This indicated strong but decelerating growth for manufacturing activity in June, despite widespread lockdowns. This was the tenth consecutive month of recovery for the Australian PMI following the severe disruptions of COVID-19 in 2020.

The latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 56.9, down from 58.6

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7342, having slipped from levels above $0.738 late last week.

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