Seven of 11 sectors on the ASX finished ahead on Wednesday. -AAP Image
Rallies from the financial and property sectors have offset declines in health care and materials to help the Australian stock market finish in the green.Â
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
At the close on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX200 was up 29.3 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 8,925.5, as the broader All Ordinaries also rose 10.5 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 9,184.3.
Seven of 11 sectors on the ASX were trading in the green, with real estate and financials leading, but the stock exchange was hampered by the materials and healthcare sectors.
The heavyweight financials sector led the gains, rising by 1.7 per cent with the three of the four major banks gaining by the end of the day, led by NAB.
Real estate stocks were also up 1.9 per cent after positive results led to surges for developer Stockland Group and asset manager HMC Capital, which recovered from losses.
The materials sector had the biggest decline, slashing 2.4 per cent after fibre cement manufacturer James Hardie tanked more than 25 per cent on weak sales.
Health care continued its downwards trajectory, falling 1.1 per cent, with biotech giant CSL extending losses a day after announcing job cuts and spinning off its vaccine arm.
The Australian dollar is buying 64.45 US cents, down from 64.91 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm AEST.
10°C