The Australian market started the month of March in positive territory, closing Tuesday?s session 0.67% higher at 7096.50 points led by a more than 5% surge in tech stocks.
The RBA has once again held interest rates at a record low 0.1% for March despite rising inflation in Australia, as the war in Ukraine brings a great new source of uncertainty to global economic recovery. The central bank of Russia has increased the country?s key interest rate from 9.5% to 20%, the highest level this century, in an attempt to ease the Ruble?s freefall.
The stocks that made headlines today were:
Insurance providers have continued to provide updates today with Suncorp and Insurance Australia Group announcing their focus on supporting flood victims in QLD and NSW through receipt of thousands of claims.
Starpharma shares rose 5% today after the biopharmaceutical company announced results from a study testing its Viraleze antiviral nasal spray against Omicron, with the result showing the spray achieved ?maximal possible reduction of virus infectivity against the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 in lab testing?.
And casino and resort giant Crown Resorts took a hit today after AUSTRAC commenced civil penalty proceedings against Crown Resorts alleging contraventions of obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act of 2006. The commencement of these civil penalty proceedings follows a long-running investigation that launched in October 2020.