AU Evening Wrap: Australia Shares Rise 0.5% Amid Large-Cap Gains
Market Performance
Australia's $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ closed 0.5% higher at 7642.1, snapping a run of five straight losses amid strength in shares of the country's large miners and banks. The benchmark index shrugged off a soft lead by U.S. equities and was already higher when it jumped around the release of jobs data showing a continued gradual loosening of the country's employment market. The ASX 200 is still down 1.9% so far this week
Iron-ore miners $Fortescue Ltd (FMG.AU)$, $BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AU)$ and $Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AU)$ put on between 0.4% and 1.7% after BHP reiterated its annual production guidance.
Banks $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$, $ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ANZ.AU)$, $CommBank (CBA.AU)$, $National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$ and $Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AU)$ added between 0.6% and 1.2%.
Real-estate and tech stocks also rose.
Top News
Australian Unemployment Rises to 3.8% in March
In March, Australian employment decreased by around 7,000 people, causing the unemployment rate to rise to 3.8% in seasonally adjusted terms, up from 3.7% in February. Analysts had predicted that employment would add 10,000 people and that the unemployment rate would increase to 3.9%.
BHP Achieves Higher Copper Production in Q1
BHP announced that it is set to meet its production guidance for financial 2024. The company reported a 10% increase in total copper production in Q1, while total iron ore production declined by 1% to 190 million tonnes. However, BHP maintained its guidance for total iron ore production between 254 million and 264.5 million tonnes for financial 2024 and achieved an average realised price of $US104.54 per tonne.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR, ASX
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