Market unmoved by Brexit dramas

AUSTRALIAN shares have largely avoided fresh Brexit vote drama to close the day higher, though mining shares weighed on the local market.

The benchmark S&P/ ASX200 index was up 20.6 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 5835.2 yesterday, with the gains for the financial sector offset by falls in the large mining stocks.

The broader All Ordinaries was 21.9 points, or 0.37 per cent, higher at 5893.7.

Wall Street closed higher after Chinese authorities indicated they will launch an economic stimulus package to help it through its current rough patch, but those gains were lost after British MPs rejected Theresa May’s Brexit deal by 432 votes to 202, adding more uncertainty about the UK’s exit from the European Union.

CMC chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said the turmoil had no real influence here in Australia.

“I think the markets were very well aware of it, and anyone looking for a poor result on the vote would have been handed a loss,” he said.

“If there is a fractious breakup in the future we could see it hurt global growth but for now there was little impact.”

The Australian market’s best performers yesterday were the info techs, followed by telcos and consumer staples, while the big miners weighed on the market.

Mr McCarthy said resources stocks appeared to have already squeezed the juice out of Tuesday’s positive Chinese stimulus news.

“(Miners) had a good run yesterday here because we had time to react to the positive Chinese data,” he said.