Gold, tech stocks lift Australian shares higher; NAB slips
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By Navya Mittal
Aug 9 (Reuters) – Australian shares ended higher on Tuesday led by gold and technology stocks, but National Australia Bank dragged down financials on flagging higher costs, while investors awaited U.S inflation data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s policy stance.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.13% higher at 7029.80, The benchmark closed nearly flat on Monday.
Markets await consumer price data on Wednesday to gauge whether the Fed may shift to dovish stance and provide a better footing for the economy to grow.
Earlier in the day, Australia reported a fall in consumer sentiment for the ninth straight month in August as another hike in interest rates combined with the surging cost of living to sour the national mood.
Local technology stocks .AXIJ led gains, jumping 1.70% helped by a 10.0% jump in cloud service provider Megaport, as annual loss narrowed for the company.
Gold stocks .AXGD advanced 0.64% on strong overnight bullion prices, with country’s largest gold miner Newcrest Mining NCM.AX gaining 0.9%.
Financials .AXFJ were among the top losers, falling 0.8% with the ‘Big Four’ banks trading in the negative territory.
National Australia Bank NAB.AX, country’s biggest lender, dropped nearly 3% after it flagged higher expenses for the second time in four months.
“I’m worried towards the end of the year, with the mortgage rates going up so much, people will probably be in a situation where they’ll be forced to sell,” said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking.
He explain higher mortgage rate will “be a major problem for Australian banks”, as most of bank’s exposure is in property sector which facing a downturn led by aggressive rate hikes.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed 0.43% higher at 11753.48.
(Reporting By Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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By Navya Mittal
Aug 9 (Reuters) – Australian shares ended higher on Tuesday led by gold and technology stocks, but National Australia Bank dragged down financials on flagging higher costs, while investors awaited U.S inflation data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s policy stance.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.13% higher at 7029.80, The benchmark closed nearly flat on Monday.
Markets await consumer price data on Wednesday to gauge whether the Fed may shift to dovish stance and provide a better footing for the economy to grow.
Earlier in the day, Australia reported a fall in consumer sentiment for the ninth straight month in August as another hike in interest rates combined with the surging cost of living to sour the national mood.
Local technology stocks .AXIJ led gains, jumping 1.70% helped by a 10.0% jump in cloud service provider Megaport, as annual loss narrowed for the company.
Gold stocks .AXGD advanced 0.64% on strong overnight bullion prices, with country’s largest gold miner Newcrest Mining NCM.AX gaining 0.9%.
Financials .AXFJ were among the top losers, falling 0.8% with the ‘Big Four’ banks trading in the negative territory.
National Australia Bank NAB.AX, country’s biggest lender, dropped nearly 3% after it flagged higher expenses for the second time in four months.
“I’m worried towards the end of the year, with the mortgage rates going up so much, people will probably be in a situation where they’ll be forced to sell,” said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking.
He explain higher mortgage rate will “be a major problem for Australian banks”, as most of bank’s exposure is in property sector which facing a downturn led by aggressive rate hikes.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed 0.43% higher at 11753.48.
(Reporting By Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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