Tourism star ASX performer

THE Australian sharemarket ended the week on a high note, with travel stocks among the best performers.

The benchmark ASX200 index closed 0.69 per cent higher at 7362 points while the All Ordinaries Index gained 0.71 per cent to 7674.2.

CommSec analyst Steven Daghlian noted it was the second straight day of gains, saying it followed a positive lead from Wall Street. The local bourse’s gain for the week was 0.6 per cent.

Travel shares got a boost after NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet declared that from November 1, fully vaccinated international arrivals into Sydney would not need to quarantine either at home or in hotels.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison later told reporters it would be Australian citizens, residents and their immediate family members who would be allowed in, rather than tourists, students and skilled workers.

But investors were encouraged by the news. Flight Centre shares jumped 3.77 per cent to $22.56, Regional Express rallied 6.12 per cent to $1.56, Webjet lifted 4.05 per cent to $6.43, Corporate Travel Management jumped 2.7 per cent to $23.67, Helloworld added 6.3 per cent to $2.89 and Qantas put on 1.97 per cent to $5.69.

Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner (pictured) said the NSW government’s decision was “obvious, sensible, and the right way to go”.