Australia Market rises 0.77%

The Australian market finished higher on the last trading day of the month, Wednesday, 31 March 2021, helped by solid Chinese economic data and on optimism over U.S. President Joe Biden's big announcement on infrastructure and other measures to support the economic recovery.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 52.22 points, or 0.77%, to 6,790.67. The broader All Ordinaries added 47.18 points, or 0.68%, to 7,016.99. The index also finished out the month 1.76% higher, the sixth month of straight improvement.

Investor sentiment was aided by China's manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) data, which showed surprisingly upbeat manufacturing activity in March as factories cranked up production after a brief lull during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Industrials, property and consumer staples led the charge, up 2.2%, 1.3% and 1.2% respectively. IT, consumer discretionary, and health care also saw significant gains. Energy (+0.08) and Telecom (+0.09) were the worst performers.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Building Permits Rebound 21.6% On Month In February- Australia total number of building permits was up a seasonally adjusted 21.6% on month in February, coming in at 19,422, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, following the 19.4% slide in January. Private sector houses rose 15.1% to 13,939, while private sector dwellings excluding houses increased 45.3%.

Australia Private Sector Credit Up 0.2% In February- Australia private sector credit was up 0.2% on month in February, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Wednesday, unchanged from the January reading. On a yearly basis, private sector credit rose 1.6%, slowing from 1.7% in the previous month. Housing credit was up 0.4% on month and 3.8% on year, while personal credit lost 0.5% on month and 12.3% on year and business credit was flat on month and down 0.2% on year. Broad money was up 0.1% on month and 12.5% on year.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.761, having slipped from around $0.765 yesterday.

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