Australian equities rise ahead of Christmas Eve early close
02:07, 24 December 2021
Most Asia-Pacific markets were trading in the green on Friday with markets in Hong Kong and Australia set for an early close for Christmas Eve.
Australian benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose for the fourth straight day, up 0.6% to 7,432. The index was on track for its highest close in over a month.
Technology stocks in Australia rebounded from the previous session’s losses with the S&P/ASX All Technology index up 1% by Friday afternoon.
AMP top gainer in Australia
Melbourne-based wealth manager AMP was the top gainer in Australia, up 6.9%, after announcing an AUD428m ($309.6m) sale of its infrastructure debt platform to Ares Holdings.
Australian mining and energy sectors gained 0.7% each on Friday as lithium miner Pilbara Minerals rose 4.8% and natural gas company Santos climbed 1.5%.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index inched 0.4% higher to 23268 on Friday morning. The Hong Kong market will be closed for the afternoon session on Friday.
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JD.com recovers from Thursday’s slump
Casino operator Sands China was the biggest intraday percentage gainer on the Hong Kong benchmark on Friday, up 2.8%. Real estate company CK Asset Holdings came in second with a gain of 2%.
E-commerce site JD.com recovered about 1.4% from the previous session’s hefty losses following Tencent’s $16bn give-away of JD.com shares to its shareholders via a special dividend. Tencent Holdings extended gains by 0.8% on Friday.
Markets in Japan will operate at normal trading hours on Christmas Eve. Benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.1% in the morning session on Friday. The index was on track to post its third straight weekly gain.
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