By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 gained 81.40 points or 1.13% to 7,268.10 in Wednesday’s trade, extending gains of 1.07% in the previous session as rising long term bond yields buoyed financial stocks, while technology companies rebounded from a recent rout.
Among stocks, Technology gained 4.2% collectively, with Computershare Ltd. (ASX:CPU) surging 11.24% after announcing half-year results. Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) climbed 4.97%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) added 2.72%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) gained 2.25%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) added 3.47%, Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) gained 4.76% while Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) dipped 0.3%
Financials also outperformed, lifting 2.59% as Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) jumped 5.58% after delivering a better-than-expected profit result. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) added 1.71%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) gained 2.38%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) climbed 2.43% while Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) retreated 1.94%.
Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX:TPW) added 9.69% after reporting a strong start to the second half of FY22.
Materials ended the session 0.56% lower after a fall in Iron ore prices as Chinese regulators warned information providers against false price disclosure. Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) fell 0.55%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) dipped 1.69%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) shed 3.6% and Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) tumbled 8.91%. Meantime, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) added 0.72%, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) gained 1.84% and Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) added 6.21%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were steady near 35-month highs of 2.097% amid intensified pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase the cash rate as soon as May, in response to persistent inflationary pressures challenging its dovish stance.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 0.93% to 12,434.