The Australian share market has finished flat, despite a steep drop for many travel stocks amid concerns that vaccination delays will keep international borders closed longer.
Key points:

  • Travel stocks have dived on vaccine delay concerns
  • Technology and real estate stocks have risen
  • Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 hit a new high

By the close, the ASX 200 had clawed back earlier losses to finish less than 0.1 per cent lower at 6,995.
The broader All Ordinaries actually managed to eke out a 2-point gain to 7,252.
Travel stocks tumbled following news of a major hurdle to Australia’s vaccine rollout plans, due to possible links between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare blood clotting disorder.
Shares in Flight Centre (-2.7pc), Corporate Travel Management (-3pc), Webjet (-2.5pc) and Helloworld Travel (-2.3pc) were all sharply lower.
Sydney Airport shares also took a hit, losing 1.6 per cent, but Qantas shares shrugged off concerns, rising 0.6 per cent.
After initially holding firm in early trade, shares in CSL, which is manufacturing the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia, were down 1 per cent to $263.40.
Gold stocks dominated gains on the market, with Silver Lake Resources up 6.1 per cent and Westgold up 6 per cent.
Online electronics retailer Kogan was another one of the top 200’s best performers, up 5.9 per cent to $13.30.
The benchmark index touched above 7,000 points during yesterday’s trade for the first time since COVID-19 crunched the market, before closing at a 13-month high.
The Australian dollar took a late dive, falling below 76 US cents during the afternoon.
Tesla gains, greenback falls
Stocks rose on Wall Street overnight, with the S&P 500 posting a record close and the Nasdaq at a seven-week high.
Market snapshot at 7:30am AEDT:

  • ASX 200 futures 0pc; ASX 200 closed +1pc at 6,999
  • AUD: 76.52 US cents, 55.69 British pence, 64.18 Euro cents, 83.59 Japanese yen, $NZ1.08
  • US: Dow Jones +0.2pc at 33,504, S&P 500 +0.4pc at 4,097, Nasdaq +1pc at 13,829
  • Europe: FTSE 100 +0.8pc at 6,942 DAX +0.2pc at 15,202, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.5pc at 3,978
  • Commodities: Brent crude +0.6pc at $US63.11/barrel, spot gold -0.3pc at $US1,736/ounce

Shares in Tesla gained 1.9 per cent as the Biden administration pledged $US174 billion to boost electric vehicles.
The scheme will include rebates for consumers who buy electric cars and money to build 500,000 new charging stations.
Other EV makers including GM, Fisker, Nikola and Canoo also saw rises on the news.
The US dollar slipped against a range of currencies, pulling its Treasury yields lower.
The fall came as data showed a surprise rise in claims for the US unemployment benefit.
Weekly initial jobless claims data showed a second straight rise, conflicting with the recent payrolls report.
The US Federal Reserve also signalled that the central bank was not close to reducing economic support for the economy, with a warning that any uptick in COVID-19 cases could slow the recovery.
Currencies that rose against the US dollar included Brazil’s real, which gained 1.3 per cent.
LoadingThat is despite Brazil still battling rising infections and soaring deaths, overtaking even the pandemic crisis in the US.
One US dollar is currently buying 5.57 real, while one Australian dollar gets you 4.26 real. A year ago, you could only buy about 3 real with one Australian dollar.
The real was one of the worst-performing currencies of 2020 and is headed for that again in 2021.
The Japanese yen also rose to a two-week high against the US currency.
ABC/wires