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* Energy stocks end at 10-month high, near pre-pandemic levels
* Gold stocks break five losing sessions on firmer bullion
* NZ records the third consecutive session in the red (updates to be closed)
Jan. 13 (Reuters) – Australian stocks stabilized higher on Wednesday as bullish data pointed to improvement in employment numbers on the horizon, with energy stocks leading the charge on higher oil prices.
The S & P / ASX 200 Index was up 0.1% to 6,686.6 at the close of the trade, with energy stocks performing the best after jumping 4.3%.
Job vacancies in the country jumped 23.4% to an all-time high in the November quarter, data showed, indicating the likelihood of stronger job growth on the horizon.
“We have seen a slight recovery in the vacancy figures, so that the economy is starting to return to a certain normal level,” said Steven Daghlian, analyst at CommSec.
“There are a lot of moving parts to a recovery, but one of them will be whether the vaccine proves effective.”
Some Australian doctors have expressed concerns about the effectiveness of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in generating herd immunity, calling for a pause in its deployment.
Expectations of rapid vaccine distribution have been a major driver in global markets, along with hope that the administration of US President-elect Joe Biden will provide more tax support to help spur growth in the larger economy. of the world.
Woodside Petroleum jumped 5.5% and Oil Search added 6.2% to lead gains in the energy sub-index, which ended at a 10-month high as oil prices rose by more than 1% after data showed a larger-than-expected inventory drop.
Miners and gold stocks also made large gains as Chinese steel futures and safe haven bullion strengthened. BHP Group and Newcrest Mining grew by 0.5% and 3.5% respectively.
However, a third straight session of losses for healthcare and tech stocks weighed on the benchmark and held back gains.
The New Zealand benchmark S & P / NZX 50 finished 0.5% lower at 13,120.28, with utilities and industrials the biggest drag. (Report from Arpit Nayak in Bengaluru, edited by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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