Australian shares closed 0.7 percent higher on Monday as major miners and banks advanced on short-covering and as gold prices rebounded, but buyers were cautious ahead of key economic reports after a recent run of weak data suggested the global economic recovery may have stalled.
The big four banks all ended higher, led by Australia's biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia rising 0.8 percent. "We see good resilience in their share prices, and that appears to reflect the investment fundamentals that are driving investors towards these stocks, which is the higher dividend yield," said Michael McCarthy, chief marker strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. The S&P/ASX 200 index added 34.7 points to 4,966.6, according to the latest data, taking its cue from a strong finish on Wall Street on Friday and a rebound in gold prices.
The benchmark rose 0.2 percent on Friday, but suffered its biggest weekly loss in almost one month as a plunge in commodities and concerns about global growth heightened worries about demand for the resource-rich nation's raw materials. Recent soft data, particularly from China and the United States, have raised fears that the global economic recovery may be stalling. Global miner BHP Billiton pared earlier losses and ended 1.0 percent higher, while rival Rio Tinto Ltd jumped 1.5 percent. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.9 percent to close at 4,483.7.
Comments
Comments are closed.