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Australian shares reversed course to close slightly higher on Monday, as strong economic data from the country s top trading partner China buoyed sentiment, but weaker technology and mining stocks limited gains. The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.1 per cent higher at 6,773.00, extending the benchmark s 0.8 per cent rise on Friday. Data on Monday showed China s industrial output grew 35.1 per cent in January-February from a year ago, better than the 30 per cent expected in a Reuters poll. China s retail sales, fixed asset investment, refinery throughput and aluminium production for first two months of 2021 also marked strong growth. Additionally, domestic investors were reassured after central bank governor Philip Lowe said that Australia s recent recovery was quick and strong, and that the country is doing much better than most other advanced economies.
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New Zealand s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 1.7 per cent to finish at 13,333.43 and was up 1.7 per cent for the week.
Australian shares eased slightly after three sessions of gains on Friday, but ended the week 1.3 per cent higher as investor confidence improved on US President Joe Biden s fiscal stimulus plans. For the session, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.3 per cent lower. I don t know right now if the equity markets are stalling or they are waiting for all the dust to settle from the change of power in the United States. It might turn out to be both, said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking.
The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.8 per cent to 6,663 at the close of trade, in line with a risk-off sentiment across broader Asia amid worries over rising global coronavirus cases.