Australia’s share market is creeping higher, stabilising from a sharp sell-off in the previous session as banks and miners counterbalanced weakness elsewhere.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 22.6 points by midday on Friday, gaining 0.25 per cent to 9,001, as the broader All Ordinaries lifted 24.2 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 9,184.5.
The move followed a positive lead from Wall Street, after US indices recovered as recent worries around inflation and surging bond market yields eased.
Brent crude oil is hovering near its recent highs above $US95 a barrel, after President Donald Trump’s assurances that the latest round of attacks by the US on Iran wouldn’t last “too long” were taken with a grain of salt.
Still, trading appeared more settled after days of selling as investors braced for higher inflation and higher interest rates ahead.
“With domestic earnings season largely in the rearview mirror, local investors are finding breathing room as broader macro panic subsides,” Moomoo chief market strategist Tapas Strickland said.
However, the overarching problem for markets was still high oil prices and bond yields, which posed an uncomfortable combination for central banks and equity valuations.
“The Australian market is increasingly caught in a tug-of-war between relatively resilient corporate earnings and a more challenging inflation and interest-rate backdrop,” Mr Strickland said.
Energy stocks fell 1.4 per cent as Woodside and Santos ran into profit-taking, while refinery operators and uranium stocks recovered from a weak session on Wednesday.
Raw materials inched 0.6 per cent higher, with gold stocks surging as the commodity’s spot price reclaimed $US4,400 ($A6,138) an ounce.
Mega miner BHP was capping the segment’s upside, slipping 1.3 per cent to $63.81 after going ex-dividend, as competitors Rio Tinto and Fortescue advanced in step with higher copper and iron ore prices.
Investors continued to pick up recently beaten-down bank stocks, with ANZ leading the big four higher and helping the heavyweight financial claw back 0.6 per cent from its late-August sell-off.
Broader economic sentiment remained gloomy, with consumer discretionaries and staples down 0.7 per cent, while real estate trusts fell 0.5 per cent.
In company news, Corporate Travel shares plummeted 80 per cent after coming out of a trading halt, a day after handing down its first annual profit in years following a disastrous overcharging scandal.
Woodside will expand its partnership with PEMEX to consider future exploration and extraction opportunities for hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Mexico.
Telstra shares traded flat despite investment giant Citi upgrading the telco to a “buy” rating, citing improving cost discipline.
The Australian dollar was buying 71.66 US cents, up from 71.39 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
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