Australia Market rebounds 1.3%; Tech, banks lead rally

The Australian share market rebounded from six-week low on Thursday, 20 May 2021, as investors stepping up bargain buying after the heavy sell-off in the previous session, with banks and technology stocks being notable gainers

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 advanced 87.90 points, or 1.27%, to 7,019.56. The broader All Ordinaries added 86.80 points, or 1.21%, to 7,252.55.

Commonwealth Bank led gains for the major lenders and added the most points to the index for the session, rising 3.2% to a new record high close of A$98.40. Westpac was up 1.4%, NAB 1.6%, and ANZ gained 2%.

Afterpay led the tech sector higher with a 7.7% gain to A$93.10. Altium rose 6.6% to A$26.20, Xero gained 4.1% to A$122.12, Appen added another 4.9% to A$13.84, and Nermap was 5.1% ahead at A$1.74.

The mining titans BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue metals cooled off as iron ore prices softened with inflationary fears in America, a stronger US dollar and higher bond yields.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Jobless Rate Dips To 5.5% In April- Australia jobless rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.5% in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, down from the upwardly revised 5.7% in March (originally 5.6%). The Australian economy lost 30,600 jobs to 13,040,400 last month, well shy of expectations for a gain of 15,000 jobs following the addition of 70,700 jobs in March. The participation rate fell to 66.0%, missing forecasts for 66.3 - which would have been unchanged from the previous month. Over the year to April 2021, employment increased 637,900 people (5.1%).

CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 89.982 after an earlier high of 90.232. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7756, weaker than levels above $0.78 seen earlier this week.

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