By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added 22.80 points or 0.31% to 7,387.60 during Thursday’s session, extending gains for the third consecutive day, as positive Omicron data soothed investor fears despite a sharp rise in infection rates both locally and abroad.
Among stocks, Heavyweight mining companies fell, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 0.13%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) down 0.31% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) falling 1.44%. However gains were seen in other parts of the sector as Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) gained 2.93%, Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) added 0.57%. Gold miners were also higher, Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM) was up 1.05%, Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) added 0.21%, Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU) gained 1.57%, Chalice Gold Mines Ltd (ASX:CHN) lifted 0.82% and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN) surged 2.26%.
Financials lifted with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) up 0.6%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) adding 0.62%, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) lifting 0.33%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) up 0.52%, Bank Of Queensland Ltd. (ASX:BOQ) adding 0.75% and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) up 0.6%. Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) partially retraced heavy loss of 30% earlier in the week, closing 5.17% higher.
Major technology names closed mixed, with Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) down 0.37%, Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) down 2.57%, Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX:LNK) adding 0.18%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) down 1.07%, Nextdc Ltd (ASX:NXT) gaining 1.78% and Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) up 0.28%. Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) fell 0.79% after announcing the acquisition of Canadian tax preperation software company TaxCycle for a consideration of $C70 million ($A75.7 million).
The real estate sector also rose, with Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) up 1.38%, Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) gaining 0.35%, Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX:SGP) adding 1.4% while Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) lost 0.6%.
Travel related stocks also posted a decent performance, as Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) added 0.41%, Flight Centre Ltd (ASX:FLT) closed 0.86% higher, Jayride Group Ltd (ASX:JAY) lifted 2.94% and Helloworld Ltd (ASX:HLO) gained 3.81%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were flat at 1.601% while United States 10-Year rates were at 1.458%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 closed little changed at 12,863.