(Reuters) – Stock markets in Australia and New Zealand jumped more than 2% on Tuesday, joining a global rally in equities overnight as investor risk appetite was boosted by promising developments toward a coronavirus vaccine.
he Australian benchmark index .AXJO hit its highest level since March 5, led by gains for travel, leisure and energy firms, while gold-related stocks plunged as investors dumped the safe-haven bullion in favour of riskier assets.
Global markets rallied sharply, with Wall Street’s main indexes hitting record highs, after U.S. drugmaker Pfizer PFE.N and its German partner BioNTech BNTX.O said data from a large-scale trial of their vaccine showed it was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19.
“Even with widespread distribution still months away the announcement effect will provide a consumer and business sentiment boost to be sure,” RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note.
“Whether people want to call that a ‘V’ recovery or not is, at this point, inconsequential – it is materially faster than most anyone appreciated,” they said.
Travel firms Flight Centre Travel Group FLT.AX, Sydney Airport Holdings SYD.AX and Qantas Airways Ltd QAN.AX soared more than 10% each on the news.
Energy stocks .AXEJ, which have been among the worst affected by the coronavirus-related hit to demand, climbed over 8% as crude prices surged.
Australia’s top independent gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd WPL.AX gained 8% while Papua New Guinea-focused Oil Search OSH.AX surged 21%.
Real estate firms Scentre Group SCG.AX, GPT Group GPT.AX and Dexus DXS.AX gained between 8% and 15%.
Gold stocks .AXGD, however, slumped more than 7% in their worst session since May 27, following a steep fall in bullion prices.
Miners Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd SAR.AX, Northern Star Resources Ltd NST.AX and Evolution Mining EVN.AX were among the top percentage losers on the benchmark.
Tech shares .AXIJ fell 4%, dragged lower by a 6% decline in buy-now-pay-later heavyweight Afterpay Ltd APT.AX, which has soared so far this year due to increased online payment transactions during the pandemic.
Glove maker Ansell Ltd ANN.AX, which had benefited from a steep hike in demand this year, was on track for its worst day since March 31.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose as much as 2.2% to hit a fresh peak.
Vista Group International VGL.NZ, which develops software for the film industry, soared 20%, while carrier Air New Zealand AIR.NZ jumped 15%.
