Strong profit reports from market heavyweights Commonwealth Bank and CSL and tentative evidence the COVID-19 outbreak in China is being contained helped local shares move to within touching distance of record highs on Wednesday.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 32.9 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 7088.2 points, leaving it less than 1 per cent below the record high it hit in late January this year.
CBA chief executive Matt Comyn. The banks shares jumped 4.1 per cent to $88.18, its highest close since May 2015.Credit:Louie Douvis
The move followed further gains in European and US markets on Tuesday, coinciding with official data showing new cases of the coronavirus in China were continuing to decline.
“Over the last three or four days, the number of new cases reported out of China has started to slow,” said Leon Goldfeld, portfolio manager at JP Morgan Asset Management’s multi-asset solutions team, at a media briefing.
