Bourse bounces in a sea of green

The local market started the month with a bumper 3.6pc lift after the market’s worst quarterly performance since 1987.

Oil prices rallied giving support to energy shares.

The local market was a rare sea of green on Wednesday, starting the month with a bumper 3.6 per cent lift after the market’s worst quarterly performance since 1987.

A surge in oil prices from an 18-year low helped the market to notch gains of 182 points, or 3.58 per cent, to close out at 5258.6 — its best closing level in two weeks.

Meanwhile the All Ordinaries added 180 points, or 3.52 per cent, to 5290.7.

It comes despite weakness on the US market, with shares slipping overnight to take the US benchmark to its worst quarterly drop on record.

Reflecting on the quarter just passed, IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda noted a “bipolar” movement in markets from record highs straight into its first real bear market since the GFC. Still, as the local volatility index spiked by 14 per cent on Wednesday, he cautioned that the worst was not over.

“Stocks are climbing off their lows, but there’s so much scepticism about whether the recovery has legs,” he noted.

“Simply put, just like broader society right now, markets are experiencing something truly unprecedented. And that means the old playbook is out of date – and the new one is being written and revised daily.

“Indeed, some degree of risk-taking has returned to the financial markets. However, few expect that we’ve seen the last of historically high volatility.”

Across the rest of the Asia-Pacific, China’s Shanghai Composite was adding 0.4 per cent at the local close while the Hang Seng was lower by 1.3 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei was trading lower by 2.9 per cent.

On the local front, building approvals for February showed a surge of 19 per cent after a dip in January, though still predate the coronavirus shutdowns, set to rattle the market considerably. The Aussie dollar was trading down 0.2 per cent to US61.22c.

To equities and energy names led the rebound – surging by 7.4 per cent over the session. Oil Search led the charge higher with a 12.6 per cent to $2.68 as Woodside put on 7.9 per cent to $19.64 and Beach Energy lifted by 13.5 per cent to $1.30.

Caltex edged up by 4.4 per cent to $23.30 ahead of a likely verdict from suitor Couche-Tard to come next week, while Santos added 9.7 per cent to $3.75 and Origin put on 5 per cent to $4.60.

Elsewhere, Webjet launched a bid to recapitalise, seeking up to $322m at $1.70 per share. Its shares remain halted at $3.76.

Across the rest of the travel sector – Virgin gave back some of Tuesday’s rally, slipping by 5.3 per cent to close at 9c as Qantas gained 4.6 per cent to $3.38 and Corporate Travel put on 3.3 per cent to $9.01.

Kathmandu was the latest to reveal its plans to raise capital – shaking the tin for $NZ207m. Its locally-listed shares last traded at 98c. Education provider IDP also announced intentions to raise $190m – its shares halted at $11.56.

Regis Healthcare withdrew its earnings guidance citing uncertainty from the coronavirus pandemic – the aged care provider said it was deferring its interim dividend to September and suspending all development activity. Shares finished Wednesday’s session down 6.9 per cent to $1.41.

Meanwhile Ardent Leisure said it was extending closures of its Main Event centres in the US – shares in the theme park operator jumped by 33.3 per cent to 28c.

Seven followed major media names Nine and News Corp in unveiling cost-cutting measures – today ordering staff to take 20pc pay cuts and warning that job losses were “inevitable”. Shares in the group slipped by 1.3 per cent to close at 8c while Nine Entertainment edged higher by 5.7 per cent to $1.21 and News Corp eked a gain of 0.7 per cent to $14.70 as it said it was suspending print editions of its community newspapers.

To the major miners, and BHP added 4.3 per cent to $30.23, Rio Tinto pushed up by 4.5 per cent to $88.40 and Fortescue rose by 3.5 per cent to $10.35.

Banks rebounded somewhat – Commonwealth Bank put on 3 per cent to $63.67 as Westpac gained 1.2 per cent to $16.70, NAB finished up 1.6 per cent to $16.95 and ANZ pushed higher by 0.5 per cent to $17.05.