Australian sharemarket edges higher on hopes of international travel resuming by October

The sharemarket has ended the day higher as hopes of international border restrictions easing by October boosted confidence in travel stocks.

Australian shares edged higher on Thursday with large gains felt in aviation and travel stocks after Qantas signalled international borders could reopening by October.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 56.2 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 6834, with materials and banking stocks following gains on Wall Street, which saw a surge in commodity prices and a rise in bond yields.

The broader All Ordinaries index rose 56.3 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 7105.7, while the Australian dollar at the end of session was fetching 79.75 US cents and gold was trading at $US1797.6 per ounce.

CommSec analyst Tom Piotrowski said the market clawed back losses set the previous day, with energy stocks benefiting from a strong rise in the price of oil.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 56.2 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 6834. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

“There was a strong performance in the commodities space overnight — particularly oil. It was up by more than 2 per cent, so energy stocks are doing well,” Mr Piotrowski said.

A fleeting day of interim results kept the domestic sharemarket active with Sandfire Resources recording the biggest daily rise of 10.6 per cent to $6.17 per share, after the release of its mid-year results, which revealed a profit rise of 78 per cent to $60.78m.

Shares in Service Stream incurred the largest daily fall, slumping 20.5 per cent to $1.35 each.

Investors backed shares in Qantas despite the major airline posting a $1.03bn loss for the first six months of the financial year, with its share price rising 1.8 per cent to $5.10 each after it signalled international travel would likely resume by October.

Moody’s Investors Service said Qantas would emerge from the pandemic stronger and likely with an increased market share.

Qantas expects international travel to begin in October. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift

“Qantas’s liquidity will be key to its ability in managing through this period of uncertainty while positioning the business for a recovery,” Moody’s vice-president Ian Chitterer said.

“We expect Qantas to emerge from the pandemic in a strong position and with an increased domestic market share, given its excellent business profile.”

Stock in Flight Centre also took off, rising 8.9 per cent to $17.19 per share after it announced it was weathering the financial storm caused by the virus. The company said it would be able to resume normal operating conditions once border restrictions eased.

Major banks all ended the day in positive territory with Commonwealth Bank shares lifting 1.1 per cent to $83.70 each, while rival Westpac rose 1.3 per cent to $24.36 per share.

ANZ jumped 0.5 per cent to $26.77 each and NAB increased 1 per cent close at $25.15 per share.

Rio Tinto gained 1.9 per cent to $128.88 per share, while stock in BHP rose 3.3 per cent to $50.45 per share and Fortescue Metals ticked up 3.1 per cent to $25.24 per share.

Stock in Flight Centre jumped by 8.9 per cent. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Sarah Matray

Investors were not impressed with buy-now-pay-later Zip’s financial results, with its share price tumbling 7.7 per cent to $10.95 each.

Telstra shares inched 1.3 per cent higher to $3.17 per share, while shares in Dreamworld owners Ardent Leisure rose 1.6 per cent to 64 cents each after releasing its mid-year results.

Wesfarmers added 0.1 per cent to its share price and ended the trading session at $50.43, while shares in Woolworths climbed 1.5 per cent to $40.08.