Gains in banks and tech stocks helped Australian shares buck a wider gloom in equities on Monday to end the session higher, with logistics firm Brambles soaring on talks of a takeover.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose about 0.3% to 7,093 at the close of trade.
It gained 1.9% on Friday. Underpinning the gains, the financial stocks added 0.3%. The country’s “Big Four” banks rose between 0.8% and 1.5%.
“Some stocks are prone to get an extended boost from rising interest rates because of their business models — and many are in the financial sector,” said Kunal Sawhney, chief executive officer at Kalkine Group said.
Prospects of the financial sector have improved this year due to an aggressive outlook for monetary policy tightening, which increases the net interest income of banks.
Tech shares were also among the top gainers following a firmer finish by US counterparts, with Xero Ltd and Computershare Ltd rising 4.5% and 1%, respectively.
Brambles soared as much as 13.3% and led gains on the main index after receiving an unsolicited takeover offer from European private-equity giant CVC Capital.
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“I think the takeover bid would give some fresh blood in the Brambles management, which would be a positive aspect,” said Brad Smoling, managing director of Smoling Stockbroking.
Energy stocks ticked up despite weaker crude oil prices, with Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Santos Ltd both rising more than 0.3%.
Miners fell 0.5% and sector behemoths Rio Tinto Ltd and BHP Group were both more than 1% lower after shockingly weak economic data from China underlined the deep damage lockdowns were doing to the world’s biggest metals consumer.
The data also weighed on Asian markets, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan losing early gains to stand flat.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended 0.1% lower at 11,157.7 points.
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