Market Commentary - Foreign Markets
Australia Market rises 0.41% As on : 05-Jun-24  14:18

Australia stock market finished session modestly higher on Wednesday, 05 June 2024, as risk sentiments buoyed up on tracking positive lead from Wall Street overnight and another wave of interest rate-related relief after weaker than expected domestic GDP growth data. Most of ASX sectors advanced, with gains in interest rate-sensitive real estate, banks, telecom, and healthcare stocks outweighed losses in energy and mining stocks.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 31.95 points, or 0.41%, to 7,769.00. The broader All Ordinaries index advanced 28.09 points, or 0.35%, to 8,022.23.

Total 8 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Telecommunications Services was the best performing sector, gaining +2.01%, while material was the worst performing sector, falling 1.1%.

The top performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were TREASURY WINE ESTATES and SEEK, up 5.27% and 4.85% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were LIONTOWN RESOURCES and SANDFIRE RESOURCES, down 5.84% and 5.65% respectively.

Telecommunications services stocks outperformed, buoyed by a rally in the shares of online jobs marketplace Seek (up 4.8%) after the company agreed to sell its majority stake in OCC Mexico and its 100% interest in Catho Online ? two Latin American employment platforms.

Shares of rate-sensitive realty and financials rose, with the ?Big Four? banks up between 0.3% and 0.7%.

Shares of materials and energy sectors closed lower amid weaker base metal and crude oil prices as signs of weakening demand in top consumer China and lingering high portside inventories. BHP fell 0.9%, Fortescue dipped 0.8% and Rio Tinto slipped 1.5%.

Shares of Sandfire Resources fell 6.1% following an independent report into the miner?s disturbance of an Indigenous site that found the previous management failed to realise its ?ESG obligations?.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australian gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.1% in the March quarter 2024 and 1.1% since March 2023 (seasonally adjusted, chain volume measure), according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Katherine Keenan, ABS head of national accounts, said: ?GDP growth was weak in March, with the economy experiencing its lowest through the year growth since December 2020. GDP per capita fell for the fifth consecutive quarter, falling 0.4% in March and 1.3% through the year.? Domestic final demand was subdued this quarter, growing 0.2%. The rise in imports of goods and services was offset by an increase in exports and change in inventories.

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