Australia: Stimulus hopes put shares on track for best week in two months

[BENGALURU] Australia shares were poised for their best week since November 2020, as investors priced in the prospects of vaccine roll-outs next month and further US stimulus, though news of an imminent three-day lockdown in Brisbane city curbed gains on Friday.

Queensland state authorities said they would enforce the lockdown in the country's third-largest city later in the day after the discovery of a case of the more contagious variant of Covid-19 that emerged in Britain.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index edged up 0.1 per cent to 6,712 points by 2355 GMT, and was on track to close the week 2.4 per cent firmer.

Bets that a Democrat-controlled Senate would help President-elect Joe Biden implement further stimulus in the near future helped boost sentiment earlier in the week, while the Australian government's plan to accelerate planned inoculation against Covid-19 also supported risk appetite.

"The positive sentiment in the market has mostly been a reflection of Wall Street's recent strength ... participants are still hopeful for further spending in the United States in the near future," said Steven Daghlian, market analyst at Commsec.

Tech stocks jumped 2 per cent, with Xero and REA Group gaining 0.8 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.

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Energy stocks were also trading higher, buoyed by rising oil prices after major producer Saudi Arabia pledged to cut production.

Oil and gas explorers Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search advanced 0.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.

Miners were trading lower, with global miners BHP Group and Rio Tinto falling 0.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.

The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 768, while 515 declined.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.7 per cent, helped by gains among utility and tech stocks. The benchmark index was on track to gain 0.6 per cent for the week.

REUTERS