Banks and tech stocks lift Australian shares; CSL, Cochlear rally on strong earnings
Business
On the domestic bourse, banks rose 0.4%
(Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Tuesday, helped by the gains in banks and technology stocks, while healthcare stocks CSL and Cochlear rallied after recording higher annual earnings.
The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.3% to 7,300.7 by 0046 GMT, its biggest intraday gain since Aug. 8. The benchmark ended down 0.9% on Monday.
On the domestic bourse, banks rose 0.4%. The “big four” banks advanced between 0.1% and 1.3%.
National Australia Bank said its third-quarter margins declined due to increased home lending competition and higher deposit costs. Its shares, however, inched up 1.3%.
Technology stocks rose 1.2%, tracking an overnight Wall Street rebound in peers.
Heavyweights Xero and ASX-listed shares of Block gained 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
Gold stocks, on the other hand, extended losses, falling 0.8% as a stronger dollar took the shine off bullion, while investors awaited fresh catalysts to gauge the downside risks after mixed U.S. inflation numbers last week.
Newcrest Mining retreated 0.4% and Northern Star Resources slid 0.7%.
Health stocks soared 2.9%, their best intra-day gains in nine months, led by CSL and Cochlear.
Biotech giant CSL rose 3.4% as it forecast increased earnings in fiscal 2024 for all its segments on strong demand and cost cutting.
Cochlear’s shares rallied 6.4% as it posted a 4% jump in annual net profit attributable to A$300.6 million ($194.94 million).
Treasury Wine Estates reported a 3.3% fall in annual profit, mainly hurt by a decline in wine sales in the United States. Its shares added 0.6%
Lake Resources was the biggest gainer on the ASX 200 index, soaring 30.1%, after the lithium developer reported “successful testing” at its lithium brine project in Kachi, Argentina.
