By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added over 1.17% in afternoon deals on Wednesday, rebounding from 7-week lows touched in the previous session, as market participants tracked solid gains in US equities overnight on the back of stronger than expected corporate earnings, while fears of the coronavirus’ global economic impact eased.
However, domestic concerns remained, with New South Wales reporting 110 fresh cases as three regional towns were plunged into a week-long lockdown after an infectious delivery driver visited the Central Tablelands yesterday. Victoria added 22 cases, while South Australia reported a single case.
Among stocks, BHP added 1.46% while Rio Tinto gained 1.31%. Meantime, Kogan fell 0.26% after narrowing its full year earnings guidance to A$61.1 million, while Altium dropped 4.52% after Autodesk confirmed that it has walked away from its $5 billion bid for the company.
In local data, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index slowed from 1.68% in may to 1.34% in June but still signaled above-trend growth, buoyed mainly by rising commodity prices.
Meantime, preliminary Retail Sales data showed a decline of 1.8% from a month earlier, posting the largest fall so far this year as protracted lockdowns dampened demand.
On the bond markets, both Australian and US 10-year bond yields were at 5-month lows of 1.177% and 1.212% respectively.