By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 gained 16.20 points or 0.22% to 7,256.00 in Tuesday’s session, snapping two sessions of consecutive decline and retracing 7 week lows, with fears of the new coronavirus Omicron variant easing as market participants await more data on the infectivity and transmissibility compared to previous strains.
Among stocks, Travel-related companies rebounded as Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) added 3.27%, Flight Centre Ltd (ASX:FLT) surged 4.47%, Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB) rallied 5.19% and Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd (ASX:SYD) gained 0.73%
Energy stocks were varied following last week’s route in oil prices. Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) added 0.89%, Oil Search Ltd (ASX:OSH) lost 2.56%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) fell 0.16% and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) dipped 0.42%.
Technology names gained as long term yields slipped to near 6-week lows, with Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) up 3.45%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) adding 2.57%, Technology One Ltd (ASX:TNE) gaining 3.69% and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) adding 1.27%, while Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) lost 1.54% and 1.24% respectively.
Rare metals miners surged with Orocobre Ltd (ASX:ORE) up 7.92% and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) adding 4.35%, while major miners closed mixed. Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) lost 1.98%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) added 2.07% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) lost 3.35%.
Financial heavyweights were also mixed, with Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) and Bank Of Queensland Ltd. (ASX:BOQ) falling 0.64%, 1.91% and 1.55% respectively, while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) added 0.30%, 0.37% and 1.41% respectively.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields eased to 1.683% while United States 10-Year rates were at fresh 3-week lows of 1.463%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 1.48% to 12,719.