Australian shares rise after 3 days of falls; News Corp sells Foxtel

23 Dec, 2024

Australian shares rose on Monday after three straight sessions of declines, with banking and gold stocks leading the rebound, while Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Telstra agreed to sell local pay TV Foxtel to Britain’s DAZN.

The S&P/ASX 200 index had risen 0.6% to 8,111.6 by 1121 GMT after shedding nearly 3% in the last three sessions.

Telecom operator Telstra and News Corp will sell their stakes in Australian cable TV and streaming service Foxtel to DAZN in a deal valued at A$3.4 billion ($2.13 billion).

Telstra shares were up 0.5%, while News Corp was 0.9% higher in Australia.

Financials jumped 1.2% in their biggest intraday gain since Tuesday.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.5% after declining 5% last week, while National Australia Bank climbed 0.8%. Westpac and ANZ Group increased between 1.2% and 1.8%.

Australian shares fall as miners offset real estate and healthcare gains

Gold stocks rose 1.4% after bullion prices closed higher on Friday.

Sector heavyweights Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources gained about 0.8% each.

Energy stocks advanced 0.5%, while miners tracked base metal prices higher.

Across the Tasman sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was flat at 12,899.91.

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