Australia Market gains 1%

The Australian share market finished session higher on Wednesday, 16 September 2020, following gains on the Wall Street overnight on hopes for an ultra-accommodative policy stance. Gains were broad based with all sectors making gains, with tech sector being the biggest mover following more improvements for US tech stocks overnight.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index advanced 61.30 points, or 1.04%, to 5,956.13. The broader All Ordinaries was up 67.65 points, or 1.11%, to 6,146.91.

Tech stocks climbed, with buy-now-pay-later firms bouncing. Bellwether Afterpay hit a near two-week high and closed 4% higher, while smaller BNPL players enjoyed even larger gains with Splitit (SPT) up 6% and Sezzle (SZL) gaining 9%. Nearmap (NEA) also added to broader tech gains, rallying 5%.

The communications sector was the other big mover with job listing site Seek Ltd (SEK) advancing 9.4%. The company is in talks with potential new investors for its Chinese employment services business, Zhaopin, with media speculation that Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba is a potential investor.

Banks were mixed. Commonwealth Bank added 1% and Westpac rose 0.2%, while NAB was down 0.1% and ANZ slipped 0.3%.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7312 after slipping from levels above $0.733 yesterday.

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