Australia Stocks Gain After Four-Session Run Lower
September 14 2016 - 3:14AM
Dow Jones News
By Robb M. Stewart
MELBOURNE--Gains by major banks helped lift the Australian
equities market Wednesday after four straight sessions in
decline.
Each of the "Big Four" banks notched up gains, recovering some
of the ground lost of late as investors have focused on a possible
end to central bank easy-money policies. The gains offset losses
among resources stocks after a sharp fall in oil prices
overnight.
Still, there remains some nervousness in markets ahead of the
U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week. The local currency
dipped in Asia, caught in a global shift away from risk that
weighed on commodity prices on Tuesday.
"The share market will remain nervous while the current bond
sell-off continues," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC
Markets.
He said that stocks remain vulnerable to a repeat of Tuesday's
action, when an early rally sparked another wave of selling.
The S&P/ASX 200 finished 19.9 points, or 0.4%, higher at
5227.7. The four largest banks collectively added more than 11
points to the index, while the energy sector fell 1.4% and the
basket of materials stocks slipped 0.6%.
Westpac Banking Corp. rose 1.5%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
picked up 1% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and
National Australia Bank Ltd. each added 0.6%.
CYBG, the British lender spun off by National Australia Bank
early this year, dropped 5.2%--its sharpest fall since late
June--after it told investors in London it was targeting further
cost cuts and expected to deliver a double-digit return on tangible
equity a year earlier than originally planned.
Among energy shares, Woodside Petroleum Ltd. was 0.7% lower, Oil
Search Ltd. lost 0.9% and Santos Ltd. sank 5.7%. Crude-oil prices
retreated overnight after the Paris-based International Energy
Agency cut its 2016 demand growth forecast by 100,000 barrels a day
to 1.3 million. That came a day after a report from the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that pointed to a
world still awash in crude.
BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. were down 1% and 1.3%,
respectively. Iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. was
1.7% weaker, and gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd. fell 0.5%.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 14, 2016 02:59 ET (06:59 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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