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ASX drops 0.3% this week
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Mining index posts best week in 8
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NZ50 drops 0.3% for the week
(Updates to close)
By Echha Jain
March 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended higher on
Friday, led by gains from mining and banking stocks as comments
from a U.S. Federal Reserve official and prospects of an
economic recovery in China lifted investor sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.4% higher at
7,283.60. However, for the week, the benchmark shed 0.3%.
A "slow and steady" approach with quarter-point interest rate hikes, for now, would be the appropriate course of action, boosting risk appetite, a Fed official had said on Thursday. "The reignited optimism also supported the Australian market to shrug off the cloud in the past four days," said Hebe Chen, market analyst at IG Markets. Data released on Wednesday showed manufacturing activity in China expanded at the fastest pace in more than a decade in February, exceeding analysts' estimates. It indicated that the Chinese economy is recovering strongly and will bolster the demand for Australian commodities, said Chen. The mining stocks index rose for four consecutive days, posting a 4.4% rise this week, its best week since Jan 6. Heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto gained 0.6% and 1.6%, respectively. Investors are now awaiting a Reserve Bank of Australia policy meeting next week, where a fifth consecutive 25 basis points interest rate hike is widely expected, according to a Reuters poll. Financials advanced 0.5% with all the "Big Four" posting gains. Separately, Australia's competition regulator granted interim authorisation to Qantas Airways and its budget arm Jetstar for the continued coordination of two Jetstar Asian-based joint ventures. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3% to finish the session at 11,868.79 points. For the week, it fell 0.3% to post a fourth straight week of losses.
Pushpay Holdings said a shareholder vote to
decide whether Sixth Street and BGH Capital would acquire the
payment platform provider for NZ$1.53 billion ($951.97 million)
has been rejected. Shares fell 3.1%
($1 = 1.6072 New Zealand dollars)
(Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane
Venkatraman)
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