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Australia shares flat as healthcare, tech stocks cap gains in miners

Published 07/05/2021, 11:09 am
Updated 07/05/2021, 11:12 am

May 7 (Reuters) - Australian shares were nearly flat on Friday, as losses in healthcare and tech stocks offset gains in blue-chip miners buoyed by surging commodity prices.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO edged up 0.03% to 7,063.8 as of 0020 GMT, but it was on track to post a 0.5% weekly jump.

Heavyweight miners .AXMM were the top percentage gainers, advancing 1% led by SSR Mining SSR.AX , up 7.3% and Red 5 RED.AX , gaining 5.3​%.

Iron ore mining giants BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX added as much as 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively, marking their fourth consecutive gain session.

Benchmark iron ore futures DCIOCv1 surged about 7% on Thursday after a five-day Labour Day holiday on demand prospects, and copper jumped 1.4%, extending gains from previous session's 10-year peak. IRONORE/ MET/L

Banks .AXFJ traded flat, with Omni Bridgeway OBL.AX , down 2.82%, and QBE Insurance Group QBE.AX losing 1.81%.

Macquarie Group MQG.AX jumped 0.6% after the financial conglomerate posted a record annual profit boosted by volatile trading and surging electricity prices due to extreme cold weather conditions in some states in the United States. stocks .AXIJ were the top percentage loser, shedding as much as 1.4% led by EML Payments EML.AX and Nuix NXL.AX , losing more than 3% each.

Healthcare firms .AXHJ fell more than 1%, with heavyweights CSL Ltd CSL.AX and local shares of Resmed Inc RMD.AX declining 1.4% and 2%, respectively.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 edged higher to 12,752.9, with losses in healthcare and utilities offsetting gains in banks.

The top percentage gainers were Z Energy ZEL.NZ and Kathmandu Holdings KMD.NZ , advancing about 1.4% each, while dairy giant Fonterra FCG.NZ lost as much as 13.4% after it proposed an overhaul to its capital structure. other markets, Japan's Nikkei .N225 was down 0.3% at 29,247.99, and the S&P 500 E-minis futures EScv1 edged lower. MKTS/GLOB

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