ASX200 rises fourth day; AMP sells debt platform to Ares
Australian shares climb fourth day in broad rally. AMP jumps after selling debt platform to Ares Management and API signs deal to sell 30-second Covid-19 tests.
Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Friday, December 24. ASX rose a fourth day after Wall Street closed at a record. It was a short trading session ahead of Christmas led by a rally in AMP.
The benchmark ASX 200 Index closed up 0.4 per cent to 7420.3, sending the gauge up 1.6 per cent on the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.6 per cent, as did the S&P 500 which climbed to a record high of 4725.79. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.9 per cent. Stocks around the world have climbed in thin trading, buoyed by two UK studies which reiterated that hospitalisations are less likely from the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
The US Nymex crude price also advanced, climbing 1.4 per cent to $US73.76 a barrel. Iron ore also climbed, up 0.9 per cent to $US123.75 a tonne.
Originally published as ASX200 rises fourth day; AMP sells debt platform to Ares
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