ASX 200 jumps 0.6%, banks, CSL, BHP gain as jobless rate falls to 4.5% but lockdowns bite

Iron ore futures -12% in 2 days, ASX 200 gives up early strong gains, closing 0.6 per cent higher. Bank stocks, plus CSL, BHP, South32 gain. Jobless rate fell to 4.5% but employment dived.

China’s weaker than expected economic data and the increasing risk of collapse in its biggest property developer have added to jitters about the global outlook. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Thursday, September 16. The ASX 200 finished 0.6 per cent higher, supported by banking stocks, CSL and BHP. Wall Street staged a modest rebound from recent declines as investors tried to gauge the strength of the economic recovery. But as iron ore futures fell, miners faltered, bringing the index off its intraday highs.

The Dow gained 0.7 per cent, the S&P 500 advanced 0.9 per cent and the Nasdaq climbed 0.8 per cent.  Europe’s main markets fell, oil prices jumped and iron ore slumped again.

Telstra has done away with ongoing cost-cutting and replaced it with what chief executive Andy Penn describes as ‘a strategy for growth’, with the telco giant unveiling its plans for the next four years.

Department store owner Myer has bounced back strongly to profitability after a horror 2020, with the retailer unveiling a $46.4m net profit for 2021 as sales also rebounded despite the disruptions caused by Covid-19.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.5 per cent in August from 4.6 per cent the month before, despite a 146,300 drop in employment, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.