Oil rebound fails to lift ASX

An oil rebound and uptick in global equities still weren’t enough to buck the ASX’s losing streak on Thursday.

An oil rebound and uptick in global equities still weren’t enough to buck the local market’s recent losing streak on Thursday. Shares fell for a fourth day on Thursday, albeit only by slight margin.

The market leapt higher by 1.1 per cent in early trade, but failed to hold gains as health and real estate businesses dragged shares lower.

By the close, the benchmark ASX200 had clawed back from lows of 5181.7 to finish lower by 4.1 points or 0.08 per cent to 5217.1.

Meanwhile, the All Ords was off by just one point, or 0.02 per cent to 5272.8.

Oil was again the key driver, but this time provided a positive catalyst as markets focused on rising tensions between the US and Iran.

In the Asian session, both WTI and brent crude jumped by more than 9 per cent, adding to overnight gains.

OANDA’s Jeffrey Halley noted that while equities had recovered roughly half of the March sell-off, the international risk environment was little changed and “you could argue that things have got worse.

“So, equity markets, and gold in particular, and bond markets to a lesser extent, sit at a crossroads now … That explains in no small degree, the back and forth volatility we see at the moment in financial markets,” he said.

“Without a clear map to follow, intraday sentiment and momentum take over. The end result being that markets chase their tails aggressively on a session or daily basis.”

Similar to our local market, China’s Shanghai Composite was trading flat at the local close while the Hang Seng was higher by 0.4 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei outperformed with a jump of 1.5 per cent.

The Australian dollar was up 0.4 per cent at US63.48c at the local close.

Energy was again in focus for equity investors, as local producers cheered a reversal of recent momentum. The sector finished higher by 2.2 per cent led by a 2 per cent lift in Woodside to $20 while Oil Search put on 3.3 per cent to $2.50 and Beach Energy added 5.7 per cent to $1.31.

Materials too were a bright spot as the majors reversed Wednesday’s losses – BHP put on 2.7 per cent to $29.75 as Rio Tinto lifted 1 per cent to $86 and Fortescue added 1.1 per cent to $11.07.

Gold miner Evolution maintained its guidance for the full year and said recent rains at its NSW operations had eased some water supply concerns. Its shares finished higher by 1.6 per cent to $5.07, helped further by defensive buying.

Fellow gold stocks also lifted – Northern Star by 4.9 per cent to $13.34, Newcrest by 3.9 per cent to $28.48 and Saracen Minerals by 4.7 per cent to $4.28.

Healthcare stocks provided the biggest drag – especially Ramsay Health Care who shed 5.9 per cent to $60.52 on its return to trade after raising $1.2bn at a discounted price of $56 per share.

Heavyweight CSL lost 2 per cent to $306.67 while Cochlear dialled back by 1.4 per cent to $179.34.

Major banks recorded another down day – Commonwealth Bank shed 0.7 per cent to $58.83 as Westpac lost 0.4 per cent to $15.28, ANZ edged lower by 0.1 per cent to $16.01 and NAB was worst hit – down by 1.1 per cent to $15.72 by day’s end.

AMP was in focus after its assets under management fell by $18.2bn and as a second proxy house recommended a strike at its upcoming AGM. Shares in the financial group finished lower by 0.8 per cent to $1.30.

Carsales.com announced it was standing down 250 staff and slashing executive pay, its shares lost 1.2 per cent to finish at $12.80.