Australia Shares jump as Mideast tensions ease

The Australian share market advanced on Tuesday, 07 January 2020, as risk sentiments propped up by tracking gains on Wall Street overnight and no fresh aggression in the Middle East. Majority of sectors were in positive territory with only Materials flirting with negative territory, weighed down by a drop in gold stocks with investors moving away from safe haven stocks. Around late afternoon, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index inclined by 94.09 points, or 1.4%, to 6,829.80, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 89.20 points, or 1.3%, to 6,946.60.

Wall Street ended firmer overnight as investors brushed aside worries about Middle East tensions, after a jittery start to the trade. The mood calmed a little as the session passed with no new aggression.

 

Oil stocks saw gains, with Santos up around 2%, Woodside Petroleum rising 0.9% and Oil Search gaining 1.8%.

The heavily weighted financial sector was up, with all of the big four trading higher by over 1%. CBA was up 1.4%, NAB up by 1.3%, ANZ adding over 1.4% and WBC ahead by 1.3%.

Buy-now-pay-later player Sezzle has seen its share price rebound after a tough end to 2019, when shares plunged on news California's Department of Business Oversight (DBO) rejected its application for a lender license in the state.

Buy now pay later provider Sezzle (SZL) shares were up by 30% to A$1.77 after the company announcing that they expect a positive outcome from the discussions with the State of California Department of Business in regards to securing a California Finance Lenders Licence. Larger rival Afterpay Ltd (APT) has also recorded gains today

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in broader risk appetite, flat against the U.S. dollar. The Australian dollar was last little changed at around $0.6934.

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