SYDNEY: The Australian sharemarket bounced off the seven-month low it touched in the previous session to open almost 1 per cent stronger, despite weak leads from Wall Street and the latest rout on China’s main index.
At the 10.15am (AEST) official market open, the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index added 47 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 5350.1, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 42.5 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 5351.9.
CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner said both the Australian and Chinese stock markets closed on their lows at the end of a weak trading session yesterday.
“The immediate question for markets this morning will be whether yesterday’s selling momentum can be arrested,” he said.
“Local market sentiment is likely to be influenced by what happens on the Chinese exchanges today.
“Investors remain particularly sensitive to developments in China after last week’s currency devaluation and are looking for comfort that things are not worse than they seem.”
Mr Spooner also said the profit reporting season had so far revealed a difficult growth environment, which is likely to see caution on earnings expectations for next year providing a cap on market rallies for some time yet.
Energy stocks were the biggest gainers at the open, lifting 2.46 per cent as a sector.
Woodside Petroleum rallied 1.06 per cent to $32.39 despite posting a steep fall in first-half profit, while Santos added 2.4 per cent to $5.98.
Financials rallied 1.27 per cent.
Commonwealth Bank rose 1 per cent lower at $77.68, while ANZ shares lifted 0.69 per cent to $29.17.
