Australian shares rose for a third consecutive day after all three US equity benchmarks lifted from an uptick in retail sales – a key barometer for consumer confidence.
The S&P/ASX 200 lifted 0.5 per cent, or by 39.7 points in the first 15 minutes or trade, to 7893.8, extending gains in to a third session. The All Ordinaries lifted 9.6 points.
Ten of the 11 sectors were in the green, led by real estate. That tracked gains on Wall Street, where a broad rally across sectors was led by property stocks. Twenty-seven of the Dow’s 30 constituents were higher, paced by retailers Nike and Walmart, as well as UnitedHealth. On the ASX, Goodman Group pushed real estate stocks higher, rising 1.4 per cent. Property group GPT also rose 1.3 per cent.
US equities were buoyant after new data showed retail sales rose 0.2 per cent last month – a small rebound from January’s 1.2 per cent decline, which was the biggest drop since 2022.
While missing economists’ forecast for a 0.6 per cent advance, February sales still brought some relief that consumer spending was not collapsing amid US President Donald Trump’s global trade war.
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