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Financial and healthcare stocks helped Australian shares to close slightly higher on Wednesday, while QBE Insurance topped the charts with a 5.4 per cent jump.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3 per cent or 17.7 points to 6,054.7, its best close in over a week. The benchmark climbed 0.8 per cent on Tuesday, reports Reuters.
Australia’s biggest insurer QBE Insurance led the gains on the index, climbing 5.4 per cent in its best session since Nov. 2016 as investors spotted the upside following a sharp fall in the previous session.
The insurer’s shares fell as much as 6.0 per cent on Tuesday after it flagged a surprise record annual loss of about $1.2 billion, battered by payouts related to natural disasters.
Macquarie Group Ltd, Australia’s biggest investment bank, rose 1.6 per cent to end at an all-time high.
Healthcare giants CSL Ltd and Cochlear Ltd gained 0.9 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively. CSL closed at a record high.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia capped the gains on the index, falling 0.8 per cent towards the end of the session to finish at its weakest since early December.