Australia shares rise on Wall Street rally, Suncorp jumps on $3.3bn ANZ deal
Australian shares ended higher on Monday as a Wall Street rally on Friday boosted sentiment, while Suncorp Group gained on selling its banking business to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in a $3.3 billion deal. The SP|ASX 200 index closed up 81.5 points, or 1.2%, at 6,687.1, its biggest jump since late June. The biggest macro force at play was the strong rally in US stocks on Friday, after Citigroup’s earnings beat and steadying iron ore and other commodity prices, said Henry Jennings, a senior analyst and portfolio manager at Marcustoday Financial Newsletter. The domestic financial sector notched its biggest rise since early June with a 1.4% rise, with three out of four of Australia’s “Big Four” banks gaining between 1% and 1.9%. Among the top gainer on the sector index was insurer Suncorp Group, which rose 6.1% on selling its banking business to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group for A$4.9 billion ($3.33 billion). ANZ also plans on raising A$3.5 billion by way of stock issuance to fund the deal.
Australia shares rise on Wall Street rally, Suncorp jumps on $3.3bn ANZ deal
Australian shares ended higher on Monday as a Wall Street rally on Friday boosted sentiment, while Suncorp Group gained on selling its banking business to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in a $3.3 billion deal. The SP|ASX 200 index closed up 81.5 points, or 1.2%, at 6,687.1, its biggest jump since late June. The biggest macro force at play was the strong rally in US stocks on Friday, after Citigroup’s earnings beat and steadying iron ore and other commodity prices, said Henry Jennings, a senior analyst and portfolio manager at Marcustoday Financial Newsletter. The domestic financial sector notched its biggest rise since early June with a 1.4% rise, with three out of four of Australia’s “Big Four” banks gaining between 1% and 1.9%. Among the top gainer on the sector index was insurer Suncorp Group, which rose 6.1% on selling its banking business to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group for A$4.9 billion ($3.33 billion). ANZ also plans on raising A$3.5 billion by way of stock issuance to fund the deal.