Australian shares tacked on 0.3 percent on Wednesday as investors bet the US Federal Reserve will maintain its asset-purchase stimulus program - a major driver of global risk assets in recent years - at least into early 2014. The S&P/ASX 200 index finished up 15.4 points at 5,430.9, hovering at five-year highs.
The benchmark fell 0.5 percent on Tuesday, but has risen eight out of the previous ten sessions on relief from the end of the US fiscal stand-off and better-than-expected data from China. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.3 percent or 15.5 points to finish the session at 4,868.1.
The financial sector underpinned the market with Westpac Banking Corp adding 0.9 percent and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group up 0.6 percent after reporting record profits the previous day. Meanwhile, Transpacific Industries Group jumped 6.7 percent to 2-1/2 year highs of A$1.11 after the company announced it has refinanced A$290 million of its syndicated facilities.
Elsewhere, gold miners fell, after bullion retreated from five-week highs as investors sought to take profits ahead of Fed outcome. Newcrest Mining Ltd lost 2.8 percent while Perseus Mining Ltd slumped 10 percent. Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Ltd lost 5 percent to A$8.36, erasing most of the previous session's gains.
Comments
Comments are closed.