Australia Market rebounds on bargain hunting

Australia stock market finished session modestly higher on Friday, 04 November 2022, despite mostly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as bargain hunting resumed following selloff in previous session.

Market rebound was led by materials and energy stocks on tracking stronger commodity prices, partially offset by weakness in technology and financial stocks.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 34.58 points, or 0.5%, to 6,892.46. The broader All Ordinaries index advanced 38.73 points, or 0.55%, to 7,089.32.

The top performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were BLOCK INC. and CORONADO GLOBAL RESOURCES INC., up 10.9% and 8.6% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were RAMELIUS RESOURCES and BLACKMORES, down 5.6% and 3.7% respectively.

Financials were weaker, with the big four banks National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, and Westpac falling between 0.3% and 1%. The Reserve Bank of Australia on Friday downgraded the outlook for economic growth, warning that more rate hikes will be necessary to bring down sky-high inflation even as it strives to avoid an outright recession.

Energy stocks were higher on tracking stronger crude oil prices, with Beach energy gaining 0.4%, Origin Energy surging almost 2%, and Woodside Energy adding almost 1.5%.

Materials stocks gained as iron ore prices jumped on hopes that China would ease its strict COVID-19 restrictions and offer policy support to the economy. Shares of BHP Group, Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto added between 0.3% and 0.7%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The total value of retail sales in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.6% on month to A$35.096 billion in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. On a yearly basis, retail sales jumped 17.9%. For the third quarter of 2022, the value of retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% on quarter and 10.0% on year to A$97.148 billion.

CURRENCY MARKET NEWS: The Australian dollar trading around $0.632 on Friday.

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