Australian shares rebound from three-month low, remain on track for weekly loss

Australian shares rose on Friday, recovering from a more than three-month low hit in the previous session as banks, energy stocks and easing bond yields lifted the benchmark, although it remained on track for a fifth consecutive weekly decline. The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0. 4% at 8, 647. 8 points as of 0007 GMT. For the week, as markets contended with a 15-year high cash rate and softer-than-expected yet stubbornly high inflation, the benchmark index was down 0. 2%. The benchmark closed 2% lower on Thursday, its lowest level since mid-June, pressured by a spike in bond yields. Australian government bond yields fell in tandem with US Treasuries, with the benchmark 10-year yield easing to 5. 36% and the three-year yield to 4. 88%. Financials rose as much as 0. 6%, but were on track for a fourth consecutive weekly decline if current momentum persists. All “Big Four” banks were up between 0. 2% and 0. 8%. Energy stocks advanced 1. 8%, headed for their best day since mid-September, as oil prices jumped overnight after China halted fuel exports. Sub-index heavyweights Santos and Woodside added 2. 2% and 1. 5%, respectively. Miners climbed 0. 7%, with behemoths BHP, Rio Tinto adding 0. 7% and 0. 5%, respectively, while gold stocks were up 0. 4%. Technology stocks rose as much as 3. 8%, notching their highest level since early September. The gauge is set to snap a sixth consecutive weekly loss, up 5. 8% so far this week. Consumer staples and discretionary stocks added 1% and 0. 4%, respectively. Bucking the broader positive trend, healthcare sub-index slipped 0. 5% while real estate stocks shed 0. 6%. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0. 7% to 13, 715. 99 points.

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