Check-in and baggage drop may have descended into Easter chaos but the travel names on the Australian sharemarket still surged into the four-day break on the promise of better times ahead for the sector.
It was another positive session for the ASX 200 on Thursday, which jumped 0.6 per cent as the likes of Qantas, Flight Centre, Corporate Travel, Webjet, Helloworld and Air New Zealand hitched a ride on a stunning set of overnight results from US peer Delta Airways.
Delta may have reported another loss for the first quarter but investors were cheered by news it had returned to profitability in March, a development that clearly reverberated throughout badly bruised travel names.
Qantas added 7.1 per cent to its value to close at a two-month high of $5.45, and was joined in the sky by Webjet, which rose 7.5 per cent to $5.85.
Travel broker Flight Centre gained 5 per cent to finish at $21.18, Corporate Travel was up 4.9 per cent to $24.86, Helloworld rose 3.1 per cent to $2.70 and Air New Zealand was 1.3 per cent ahead at 78 cents.
The sector was clearly the star in a good day for the local market which saw nearly all sectors finish higher.
Mining, energy and texjmtzywchnology stocks were strong as the benchmark ASX 200 rose 44.4 points to 7523.4 to close out the holiday-shortened week at its highest in seven sessions.
The broader All Ordinaries gained 50.2 points, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 7822.2, while the Australian Dollar was buying 74.60 US cents at the local close, having jumped around wildly on slightly disappointing jobs numbers for March.
That data release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics – which showed a less-than-expected 18,000 jobs added for the month – gave the ASX a slight boost as traders bet the Reserve Bank will almost certainly hold off on a rate hike until after the May 21 federal election.
Only the financial sector finished in the red in what was a disappointing day for the major banks.
Commonwealth Bank slipped 0.1 per cent to $106.50, Westpac was down 0.7 per cent to $24.11, National Australia Bank closed 0.7 per cent lower at $32.85 and ANZ lost 0.3 per cent to $27.42.
Global lender JP Morgan had overnight reported a disappointing first quarter and grim outlook but Wall Street resoundingly chose to ignore this and instead focused on the notion the US has reached peak inflation.
All three US indices marched higher, setting Australia up for a great session.
“Everyone remains desperate to pick the absolute bottom of the stock market,” said OANDA Asia-Pacific analyst Jeffrey Halley.
The promise of further Chinese stimulus served as greater encouragement for BHP investors, with the iron ore giant gaining 1.4 per cent to close at $52.50.
Fortescue Metals rose 1.3 per cent to $21.61, Champion Iron was up 1.8 per cent to $7.86, but Rio Tinto was flat at $120.54.
Gold miners shone on the yellow metal’s increasing appeal as an inflation hedge, with Newcrest up 1.8 per cent to $28.41, Northern Star 4.2 per cent higher at $11.44, Evolution 2.4 per cent ahead at $4.66 and St Barbara up 4.4 per cent to $1.53.
Another oil price rise meant a 1.1 per cent gain for both Woodside Petroleum and Santos to $32.39 and $8.19 respectively.
Technology was another winner, with accounting software firm Xero gaining 2 per cent to $102.78 and Block Inc up 1.9 per cent to $168.15.
Afterpay rival Zip Co did not fare as well, dropping another 4.7 per cent to $1.23.
Elsewhere, there were gains for blue chip stocks Macquarie Group, Woolworths, Coles, Transurban, CSL, Goodman Group and Aristocrat Leisure.
Of the big players Wesfarmers, Resmed and Telstra ended in the red.
The ASX will resume trading on Tuesday April 19 at 10am AEST.
