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ASX 200 rebounds from 5-day losing streak
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Financials, miners lift benchmark index
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Policy rate decision by RBA, RBNZ in May
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AGL completes debt refinancing worth $1.06 bln
(Updates to close)
By Poonam Behura
April 28 (Reuters) - Australian shares recovered from a
five-day losing streak on Friday, led by a rally in financials
and miners, although the benchmark saw a second weekly loss due
to a decline in commodity stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% to 7,309.20 at the
close of trade.
For the week, the index fell 0.3%, compared to a 0.4%
decline in the previous week.
Strong corporate earnings in the United States improved
sentiment despite lingering worries over economic weakness. In Sydney, investors have an eventful week ahead, with rate
decision by the country's central bank as well as a federal
budget on the horizon.
"Generally, inflation seems to have peaked and we're very,
very close to the peak in interest rates, so it wouldn't be
surprising if the RBA decided to pause", Henry Jennings, senior
analyst and portfolio manager said.
Banks rose 0.6%, snapping a four-day losing streak
led by a 0.9% gain in ANZ Group Holdings Co and Westpac
Banking Corp . Three of Australia's "Big Four" banks are
scheduled to report earnings in the next couple of weeks.
Miners added 0.5%. Heavyweights Rio Tinto inched up 0.1% while BHP Group rose 0.3%.
Technology stocks added 0.5%, tracking an overnight
rally in Wall Street. Gold and energy stocks bucked the trend,
slipping 0.5% and 0.3% respectively.
AGL Energy Ltd slid 1% after the company said it
has completed partial refinancing of debt facilities worth A$1.6
billion ($1.06 billion) for repaying loans and fund existing and
future renewable energy projects.
Megaport Ltd climbed 41.46% as the
network-as-a-service firm said it expected normalized EBITDA to
be materially above market consensus of A$30 million in fiscal
2024.
Woodside Energy Group Ltd's shareholders supported
its management pay report and re-election of directors despite a
strong push by activist groups and some smaller investors upset
over its climate report to reject the plans.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.9%
to close at 12,019.84.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hike interest
rates by 25 basis points next month to 5.50%, according to a
Reuters poll.
(Reporting by Poonam Behura in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
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