Australian stocks up slightly on industrials; NZ up
Reuters
Published May 24, 2017 12:56
Australian stocks up slightly on industrials; NZ up
By Aparajita Saxena
May 24 (Reuters) - Australian stocks rose slightly on support from industrial and energy shares, while healthcare stocks helped New Zealand's market edge up on Wednesday.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 9.81 points, or 0.17 percent, to 5,770 by 0214 GMT.
Index heavyweight BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX was the biggest gainer, up half a percent on gains in oil prices. O/R
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, supported by increasing confidence that an OPEC-led production cut aimed at tightening the market would be extended through the rest of 2017 and the first quarter of next year. O/R
Other oil majors such as Origin Energy Ltd ORG.AX and Beach Energy Ltd BPT.AX rose marginally, while the broader energy index .AXEJ gained 0.28 percent.
Gains in industrials were led by testing services provider, ALS Ltd ALQ.AX , up as much as 17.1 percent to its highest in 2-1/2 years.
ALS on Wednesday reported an after tax profit in fiscal 2017, a turnaround from a loss a year ago. and container group Brambles Ltd BXB.AX also underpinned gains in industrial stocks, rising to its highest in a week.
The financial index .AXFJ was flat on the day, with a slight positive bias. Macquarie Group Ltd MQG.AX was the biggest gainer, up 1 percent to lead the financial sector.
"We're seeing fairly muted moves in the sector today," said Chris Weston, an institutional dealer at IG Markets.
Three of the 'Big Four' were marginally lower, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX rose 0.1 percent.
The banking sector has more downside risks than upside due to stretched valuations, rising cost of funds, low credit growth and the bank tax that is likely to increase over time, Blue Ocean Equities said in a note.
Among the losers were gold stocks .AXGD , which fell nearly 3.5 percent. Newcrest Mining Ltd NCM.AX and Evolution Mining Ltd EVN.AX fell around 3 percent, while Perseus Mining Ltd PRU.AX shed 5 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 climbed 0.15 percent, or 10.81 points, to 7,395.51, led by healthcare companies.
Ryman Healthcare Ltd RYM.NZ was the top performer on the index, followed by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd FPH.NZ .
New Zealand posted a monthly trade surplus of NZ$578 million ($405.35 million) in April, data from Statistics New Zealand showed on Wednesday, while the annual deficit was NZ$3.48 billion. more individual stocks activity click on STXBZ
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($1 = 1.4259 New Zealand dollars)
Written By: Reuters
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