CSL and tech giants lift Australian sharemarket against falling global stocks

Surging healthcare and technology stocks helped lift the Australian sharemarket on Thursday, bucking the broader Asian market trend.

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.

The technology sector advanced 1.72 per cent, while healthcare and consumer discretionary stocks added 1.64 and 1.35 per cent respectively.

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.

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.

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.

eToro market analyst Zavier Wong said Australia’s sharemarket bucked the broader Asian market trend, with both the Hang Seng and Nikkei giving up more than 1 per cent.

“Today’s 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,” he said.

Locally every sector besides the major miners finished in the green.

“CSL is attracting investor flows after weakness in 2025,” Mr Wong continued.

“It’s 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.”

Oil and gas providers firmed during the day’s trading after the price of oil dipped below $US60 a barrel as the markets expect greater supply to come out of Venezuela.

Gold and silver shares also dragged on the wider materials sector, following a strong day of trading on Wednesday.

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.

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.

BlueScope shares also fell 1.57 per cent to $29.40 after rejecting a “very significantly undervalued” deal for the steel maker. A consortium of SGH Limited and Steel Dynamics approached BlueScope offering shareholders a price of $30 per share.

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.

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.

The Australia dollar slipped 0.30 per cent against the greenback to buy 67.01 US cents.