Australia Market rebounds as Omicron fears ease

The Australian share market finished session higher on Tuesday, 07 December 2021, as investors took heart from strong rebounds on Wall Street on hopes that the newest coronavirus variant will prove less virulent than earlier strains.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 68.83 points, or 0.95%, to 7,313.90. The broader All Ordinaries index added 76.19 points, or 1.01%, to 7,605.23.

Total 10 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Energy was the best performing sector, gaining +2.07%, followed by information technology (up 1.9%), healthcare (up 1.73%), consumer discretionary (up 1.6%), and realty (up 1.27%).

The top performing stocks in this index were POINTSBET HOLDINGS and ZIP CO, up 9.92% and 9.91% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in this index were MAGELLAN FINANCIAL GROUP and NICKEL MINES, down 6.38% and 4.3% respectively.

Shares in Zip Co (Z1P) rallied 9.9% to $4.77 on the back of its November trading update. The buy-now-pay-later company reported record transaction numbers for the month of 7.5m (up 86% YoY) as well as record monthly transaction volume of $906.5m (up 52% YoY).

Magellan Financial Group (MFG) was the worst performer on the ASX200, dropping 6.4% to $29.10, following the resignation of its CEO Dr Brett Cairns who stood down today for personal reasons. CFO Kirsten Morton has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Building Permits Down 12.9% On Month In October- Australia total number of building permits was down a seasonally adjusted 12.9% on month in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, coming in at 15,911 and following the 3.9% drop in September. Permits for private sector houses rose 4.3% on month to 10,799, while permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses plummeted 37.5% to 4,821. On a yearly basis, permits for private sector houses slipped 3.7%, permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses sank 16.5% and overall permits fell 8.1%.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also said that house prices in Australia were up a seasonally adjusted 5.0% on quarter in the third quarter of 2021, slowing from 6.7% in the previous three months. On a yearly basis, house prices jumped 21.7%, up from 16.8% in the second quarter. The total value of residential dwellings in Australia rose A$487.0 billion to A$9,259.2 billion this quarter, and the mean price of residential dwellings rose A$42,000 to A$863,700. The number of residential dwellings was 10.720 million.

The Reserve Bank of Australia met today for the final time this year, leaving the cash rate on hold as expected at 0.1%.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was at $0.7068, as it strengthened from the $0.701 level.

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