Aussie shares gain on sign of cooling labour market
Australian shares have bounced back from the previous day’s losses after a surprise rise in jobless claims signalled the labour market is cooling.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday finished up 58.1 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 7,410.3.
The broader All Ordinaries closed 61.6 points higher, or 0.81 per cent, at 7,620.7.
An unexpected 0.2 per cent increase in unemployment fuelled the ASX after a positive lead from Wall Street following strong US retail figures.
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Investors hope a cooling jobs market will strengthen the case for an earlier pause in interest rate hikes.
The consumer discretionary and technology sectors were the biggest winners, both up 2.7 per cent, while utilities suffered a 1.4 per cent slide.
The Australian dollar was buying 69.19 US cents, from 69.35 at Wednesday’s ASX close.
