Australia Market gains 0.44%

Headline indices of the Australian share market closed higher in lackluster trade on Friday, 23 November 2018, on the back of strength in banking and energy stocks. Market gains were, however, capped due to absence of any fresh cues from Wall Street, which was closed overnight for the Thanksgiving holiday. Lingering worries about U.S.-China trade tensions and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit weighed on sentiment. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index added 24.93 points, or 0.44%, to 5,716.21 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 23.10 points, or 0.4%, to 5,793.41 points.

Shares of banks and financials were higher, with ANZ again the strongest of the big four lenders, surging 2.3% higher to A$26.34, which Ms Lee said reflects the bank having less exposure to mortgage lending and a more stabile capital ratio. NAB, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank gained between 1 and 1.4%.

Shares of energy companies closed mixed even as crude oil prices dipped overnight. WTI crude oil futures for January were down $0.77 or 1.41% at $53.86 a barrel. Santos and Beach Energy were down 0.4% and 1.6% respectively, while Woodside, Oil Search, Origin and Caltex were up between 0.4% and 1.4%.

Shares of major miners were lower after yesterday's dip in iron ore prices, with BHP losing 0.7% to A$31.55, and Rio Tinto, down 0.3% to A$76.78. BlueScope was up 3.8% to A$12.60 after reporting strong domestic sales volumes at its annual general meeting.

Among individual stocks, Kathmandu stocks gained nearly 13% after the adventure retailer reported a 6.3% rise in same store sales at the start of its financial year nd also said it expects its first-half profit to be strongly above last year.

Meanwhile, Brickworks shares dipped 1.4% following the announcement of the A$151 million purchase of American brickmaker, Glen-Gery.

CURRENCY: Australian Dollar, seen as a proxy for China-related trades, eased against greenback and other major currencies on Friday, as investors remained wary amid heightened tensions between the United States and China, and uncertainties surrounding the U.K.'s divorce negotiations with the European Union. The Australian dollar was quoted at 72.49 US cents compared to 72.52 US cents on Thursday; 81.82 Japanese yen, from 81.94; 63.50 euro cents, from 63.62; 56.28 British pence, from 56.72; and 106.42 NZ cents, from 106.51.

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