INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Australian shares edged higher on Thursday helped buying in financials and material firms, though broader market gains were checked by
generally subdued regional markets amid trade war worries.
The SP/ASX 200 index closed 0.3 per cent, or 17.6 points higher to 6,262.7,
having climbed 0.7 per cent on Wednesday.
Sentiment was still fragile in financial markets amid the United States -driven international
trade dispute, which has entangled Europe to Mexico to China - Australia's biggest export market.
Materials are particularly vulnerable to
any sharp slowdown in China as the world's second-biggest economy sucks up a major portion of Australian commodities and is an important
driver of its growth.
On Thursday, miners advanced with Rio Tinto and South32 rising 1.4 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.
South32
reported that it beat its coking coal output guidance for fiscal 2018, despite also announcing a 24 per cent drop in its fourth quarter
output.
BHP edged slightly higher, a day after it drove the benchmark up on the back of record annual iron ore output.
Data earlier in the
day showing solid Australian jobs growth didn't appear to have a direct impact on the market, though it did provide an encouraging backdrop
for an economy facing some headwinds, including a slowing housing market and a wobbly retail sector.
The main financial index rose 0.4 per
cent, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Australia and New Zealand Banking the biggest boosts.
On the downside, gold stocks extended
their declines for a fifth session as the yellow metal hovered around one-year lows, as a stronger dollar and rising United States interest
rates pull investors away from the traditional safe-heaven.
"Forget all else, the United States dollar remains the single dominant factor
Traders are increasing gold shorts despite uncertainty over the trade war, wholly emboldened by the United States dollar's ongoing
strength," said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at Oanda.
The gold index fell 1.5 per cent to its lowest in over seven weeks
led by Evolution Mining, which slid 4.4 per cent.
The Australian economy added over 50,000 new jobs in June, and while the data did not
disappoint, a rise in the participation rate to 65.7 per cent curbed much needed wage gains and held the unemployment rate steady at 5.4 per
cent.
New Zealand's benchmark SP/NZX 50 index closed 0.3 per cent lower at 8,917.59.
Index heavyweight a2 Milk Company was the biggest
drag, falling 2.4 per cent to its lowest close in 1-1/2 months
