July 17 (Reuters) – Australian shares gained on Thursday, led by a rise in financials, while investor sentiment improved after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “highly unlikely” to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
The S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.5% to 8,602.2 points by 0038 GMT. The benchmark had dipped 0.8% on Wednesday.
Markets were roiled by fears that Trump might try to remove Powell, but the turmoil subsided after the U.S. president said he was “highly unlikely” to fire the central bank chief.
On the local bourse, financial stocks led the advance, climbing 0.5%, with the country’s “Big Four” banks gaining between 0.3% and 1%.
Heavyweight miners added 0.2% as iron ore prices were helped by strengthening ties between top producer Australia and leading consumer China.
The world’s largest listed miner, BHP Group, rose 0.2%, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue traded 1.2% and 0.8% higher, respectively.
Energy stocks drifted within a narrow range, in tandem with Santos.
The country’s second-largest gas producer reported a more than 2% decline in its second-quarter sales revenue, pressured by weaker oil and gas prices, though higher volumes were recorded as domestic gas sales remained robust.
Shares of the company rose 0.1%.
Technology stocks firmed 0.5%, tracking gains in Wall Street peers.
Sector major Xero added more than 0.7%.
Meanwhile, gold stocks fell 0.2%, reversing Wednesday’s gains, as bullion prices trimmed gains after Trump said he wasn’t planning to fire the Fed Chair.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose more than 1% to 12,894.2 points. (Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
