The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to around 8,900 in Thursday morning trade, rebounding after a decline of more than 3% over the previous two sessions. Sentiment improved as a strong lead from Wall Street, supported by easing oil prices and upbeat US economic data, encouraged risk-taking.
At the same time, investors continued to weigh the inflationary implications of the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the previous day’s stronger-than-expected domestic GDP figures, which reinforced concerns that the Reserve Bank may move to raise interest rates sooner than anticipated.
Gains were led by banking, healthcare, and technology stocks. Among the major lenders, NAB outperformed with a 1.7% rise, while the other three big banks advanced about 1% each. In healthcare, biotech heavyweight CSL added 2.8%. Technology names also rallied, with logistics software providers WiseTech Global, Xero, and TechnologyOne jumping between 5% and 7%, tracking similar strength in their US counterparts.
On the data front, Australia’s trade surplus narrowed to A$2.63 billion in January, undershooting expectations, as exports slipped 0.9% while imports rose 0.8%.
