Australian shares climbed on Friday, lifted by miners and oil and gas explorers as commodity prices stabilized.
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The major Asia-Pacific stock indexes rose sharply on Friday, with shares in China and Japan leading the charge higher. The indexes were underpinned initially by a strong performance on Wall Street.
China shares rose in response to a surge in January – February industrial profits which provided a boost to the economic recovery. Hong Kong shares climbed on a technology rebound and South Korean stocks gained on economic optimism. Strong commodity prices helped Australia shares jump.
n the cash market on Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index settled at 29176.70, up 446.82 or +1.56%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished at 28336.43, up 436.82 or +1.57% and South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 3041.01, up 32.68 or +1.09%.
In China, the Shanghai Index settled at 3418.33, up 54.74 or +1.63% and in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.5% to close at 6842.20.
China News
Annual profits at China’s industrial firms surged in the first two months of 2021, highlighting a rebound in the country’s manufacturing sector and a broad revival in economic activity from the coronavirus crisis early last year.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index rose on Friday and snapped a five-week losing streak, boosted by beaten-down consumer firms and strong inflows from foreign investors. Consumer staples stocks, which have been heavily sold off in recent weeks, led gains. A sub-index tracking the consumer staples sector rose 2.53%, led by foreign investor favorites Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd and Wuliangye Yibin Co.
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