Surging healthcare and technology stocks helped lift the Australian sharemarket on Thursday, bucking the broader Asian market trend.<\/p>\n
The Australian sharemarket added 25.20 points or 0.29 per cent to 8,720.80, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 28.50 points or 0.32 per cent to 9,046.50.<\/p>\n
The technology sector advanced 1.72 per cent, while healthcare and consumer discretionary stocks added 1.64 and 1.35 per cent respectively.<\/p>\n
WiseTech Global jumped 2.22 per cent to $68.28, while Codan soared 4.71 per cent to $31.56 and Life360 leapt 3.93 per cent to $32.79.<\/p>\n
Market heavyweight CSL climbed 2.62 per cent to $174.45, while Sigma Healthcare added 0.70 per cent to $2.88 and Pro Medicus finished 0.43 per cent higher to $215.92.<\/p>\n
Wesfarmers shares added 1.23 per cent to $80.96, The Lottery Corporation jumped 1.59 per cent to $5.10 and Breville closed up 2.65 per cent to $30.26. <\/p>\n
eToro market analyst Zavier Wong said Australia\u2019s sharemarket bucked the broader Asian market trend, with both the Hang Seng and Nikkei giving up more than 1 per cent. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s sell-off is driven by concerns over tensions between Japan and China, but for investors, this appears to be a breather after a strong start to the year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Locally every sector besides the major miners finished in the green. <\/p>\n
\u201cCSL is attracting investor flows after weakness in 2025,\u201d Mr Wong continued. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clearly standing out as a contrarian trade; investors lost confidence in the once ASX darling last year as margins sank and operational troubles clouded the stock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oil and gas providers firmed during the day\u2019s trading after the price of oil dipped below $US60 a barrel as the markets expect greater supply to come out of Venezuela. <\/p>\n
Gold and silver shares also dragged on the wider materials sector, following a strong day of trading on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Northern Star Resources fell 3 per cent to $24.60, Evolution Mining dropped 1.92 per cent to $12.74 and Newmont slipped 0.68 per cent to $157.43. <\/p>\n
In company news personal protective equipment manufacturer Ansell shares slumped 6.24 per cent to $33.36 after it announced managing director and chief executive Neil Salmon has retired after 13 years with the business. <\/p>\n
BlueScope shares also fell 1.57 per cent to $29.40 after rejecting a \u201cvery significantly undervalued\u201d deal for the steel maker. A consortium of SGH Limited and Steel Dynamics approached BlueScope offering shareholders a price of $30 per share. <\/p>\n
Shares in construction company James Hardie slumped 3.47 per cent to $30.84 after US President Donald Trump suggested there could be a move to stop institutional investors from buying single family homes, in a bid to make property more affordable for people. <\/p>\n
Buy now pay later provider Zip was among the top performers as it surged 7.52 per cent to $3.43, while Ansell was the biggest laggard. <\/p>\n
The Australia dollar slipped 0.30 per cent against the greenback to buy 67.01 US cents.<\/p>\n