Australia Market rebounds on bargain hunting

8 Apr 2022 , 05:15 PM

The Australian share market finished session higher on Friday, 08 April 2022, as investors scooped up recently battered shares after the Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the countrys business turnover recovered for all 13 selected industries in February 2022.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 gained by 35.16 points, or 0.47%, to 7,477.99. The broader All Ordinaries index added 37.24 points, or 0.48%, to 7,772.02.

Market participants bought in plummeting shares following the benchmark indexs sharp fall over the past two trading days.

However, market gains were limited amid worries about the impact of aggressive policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the conflict in Ukraine, and lockdowns in China. Over the course of the week, China tightened restrictions on movement amid a COVID-19 outbreak, bringing life in Shanghai to a virtual standstill, while Ukraine braced for a major Russian offensive with peace talks sputtering. A particular focus was the U.S. Federal Reserve, with policymakers sounding increasingly hawkish notes in recent days.

Shares of GrainCorp soared 5.8% to hit a record high after the grains handler said it expects underlying profit for fiscal 2022 to be around 2.5 times that of last year.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Seasonally adjusted business turnover increased for all 13 selected industries in February 2022, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Transport, postal and warehousing recorded the largest rise (9.3 per cent) compared to January, as airlines and other transport businesses generally reported higher turnover. The Wholesale trade and Mining industries also continued to benefit from rising commodity prices, with turnover rising by 3.9 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively compared to the previous month. All industries have recorded year-on-year increases in business turnover. These ranged from a rise of 8.1 per cent for Construction to 35.1 per cent for Mining in February 2022 compared to turnover in February 2021.

CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, strengthened to 99.972. The Japanese yen traded at 124.05 per dollar, while the Australian dollar was at $0.7458.

Powered by Capital Market – Live News