ASX gains as AMP, Telstra rally

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is one of the world's leading financial market exchanges based in Sydney, Australia. Companies list on a stock exchange, such as the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), to raise money by selling shares to investors who then have the chance to make a profit if the company performs well.

It was on Friday The S&P/ASX200 closed up, gaining 32.70 points or 0.44% to 7,420.30 and crossing above its 125-day moving average. The top performing stocks in this index were AMP LIMITED and PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED, up 6.38% and 5.34% respectively. Over the last five days, the index has gained 1.59% and is currently 2.78% off of its 52-week high.

It was a shortened session, for the holiday season, and the market will be closed on Monday December 27 and Tuesday December 28, 2021. Over the past five days, the index has gained 1.59% and is currently 2.78% off of its 52-week high.

While The Australian dollar is trading around US72.32c, still around 6% weaker year to date against the US dollar. Bitcoin is currently trading above $US51,000, having fallen about 30% over the past five weeks after setting a record high of almost $US69,000 in early November.

Over 80 domestic flights have been cancelled due to a shortage of airline staff, reports The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. A spokesman for Sydney Airport told the news outlets that 80 domestic flights were cancelled on Friday. Airlines do not have enough staff due to isolation requirements.

Qantas is not only the flag carrier for Australia, but it is also the third-oldest airline in the world, celebrating its 100th birthday in 2020. Known for the emblematic ‘Flying Kangaroo’ on its tail wing, Qantas now operates as Australias largest domestic and international airline. And Webjet Limited as a digital travel business spanning both global consumer markets (through B2C) and wholesale markets (through B2B), each closed 1.7% higher, Corporate Travel Management was up 3.6% and Flight Centre gained 0.6%.

AMP which is a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand providing superannuation and investment products, financial advice, and banking products including home loans and savings accounts announced it had offloaded its infrastructure debt unit to US private equity giant Ares Management in a $428 million deal. AMP shares closed 6.4% higher. The telecommunications sector was the strongest for the session, up 1.2% with Telstra gaining 0.7% to hit its highest since August 2017.