Australia Market gains for the first time in six sessions

Headline indices of the Australia share market advanced for the first time in six consecutive sessions on Wednesday, 07 August 2019, as investors chased for bottom fishing on recently battered stocks, thanks to positive lead from Wall Street overnight and steps taken by Chinese authorities to contain a sliding yuan. Comments from Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, also soothed sentiment. Around late afternoon, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index advanced 44 points, or 0.68%, to 6,522.10. Meanwhile the broader All Ordinaries index, which tracks the nation's 500 biggest listed companies, added 44.15 points, or 0.67%, to 6,590.60.

The rebound came as the People's Bank of China took steps on Tuesday to stabilise the yuan with a firmer-than-expected fixing and a bond sale to signal that the authorities wished to stem the rout. China has said the recent yuan depreciation was decided by the market, not Beijing, and denied the Trump administration's accusation designating the country a currency manipulator.

Comments from Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, also soothed sentiment. Kudlow said on Tuesday the Trump administration wants to continue trade talks with China and is still planning to host a Chinese delegation for talks in September.

U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed fears of a protracted trade war with China on Tuesday, but Beijing has sent strong warnings that labeling it a currency manipulator would have severe consequences for the global financial order.

Financials were higher, with the major banks- ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank were up in a range of 0.2%-1%. Commonwealth Bank fell 1% after the lender reported 8% drop in full-year net, while its cash profit declined 4.7%.

Gold miners were higher after gold prices rose for a third straight session overnight. Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining were up in a range of 2-3%.

Materials and energy stocks were softer. In the mining space, Fortescue Metals, Rio Tinto, and BHP Group were down in a range of 0.2-0.5%. In the energy space, Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Oil Search were down in a range of 0.5-1.5%.

Suncorp Group rose 4%. The Company reported an 84 percent fall in its full-year profit and said it is abandoning its so-called marketplace strategy to refocus on banking and insurance.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar, a liquid proxy for emerging market and China risk, was firmer against greenback on Wednesday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6780, climbing from an earlier low of $0.6748.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News