Australia Market rebounds 0.33%; Realty, materials stocks lead

Australia stock market finished session modestly higher on Wednesday, 01 February 2023, registering first gain in three consecutive sessions, as investors chased for value buying on tracking positive lead from Wall Street overnight, with shares in realty, materials, and industrials led rally.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 25.04 points, or 0.33%, to 7,501.70 The broader All Ordinaries index advanced 23.55 points, or 0.31%, to 7,709.70.

Total 8 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. A-REIT was the best performing sector, gaining 1.46%, followed by industrials (up 0.7%), materials (up 0.68%), and healthcare (up 0.63%) issues. Energy was worst performing sector, erasing 1.16%, followed by Information Technology (down 0.42%) issue.

The top performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP and JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC, up 8.09% and 4.29% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were PINNACLE INVESTMENT and PALADIN ENERGY, down 7.2% and 4.12% respectively.

Shares of material companies advanced, with Rio Tinto and South32 rising 1.4% and 2%, respectively. Market heavyweight BHP also ended the day in the green, up 0.3%.

Shares of industrials also advanced, with building materials maker James Hardie Industries rising 4.3% after peers in the US posted solid earnings overnight.

Travel stocks surged, with Flight Centre jumping 8% after it completed its $180 million capital raising. Both Qantas and Webjet shares also finished the day higher.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The manufacturing sector in Australia slipped into stagnation in January, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.0. That's down from 59.2 in December and lands right on the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was stood at 0.7070 against greenback on Wednesday, up by 0.2% from previous trading day closure at 0.7054 after trading in the range of 0.7037-0.7077.

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