Australian shares reversed direction on Wednesday to end at the its highest level in more than a month as financials pared their early losses, while upbeat earnings from oil companies and a rise in crude prices buoyed the energy sector. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.5 percent or 27.62 points to 5785.1 at the close of trade.
Financials, the biggest index component, closed up with the major banks finishing the session higher, except for Commonwealth Bank of Australia which closed 1.7 percent lower after trading ex-dividend. The benchmark energy index rose to its highest level in two months and closed higher with Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy driving the gains.
Woodside Petroleum, Australia's biggest independent oil and gas producer, closed 2.6 percent higher after reporting a 49 percent jump in its half-year profit. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.51 percent or 39.6 points higher to finish the session at 7853.34, its all-time closing high.
Comments
Comments are closed.