Shares end the day higher despite declines for the big four banks including the worst day for NAB shares since August 2020.
Australian shares edged into positive territory on Wednesday after spending most of the day in the red to snap a three-day run of declines as the negative sentiment that marked the start of the week began to abate.&The advance was led by the healthcare sector, which jumped 1.7 per cent higher to outpace all other sharemarket sectors, as CSL, the largest listed health group and one of Australia’s biggest companies by market value, added 2.1 per cent to $276.22.
NAB was joined within the top 10 list of poorest performers among blue chips by fellow financial companies Zip, which fell 3.9 per cent to $1, Pendal Group, down 3.4 per cent to $$5.15, and Virgin Money UK, which slipped 3 per cent to $2.60 announced David George, the Future Fund’s former deputy chief investment officer, as its new chief executiveMr George will take the reins of the business in August from caretaker chief executive Kirsten Morton after a rough six months for the fund manager.In December, former chief executive Brett Cairns suddenly stepped down followed by a prolonged period of leave for chief investment officer Hamish Douglass in a series of management changes that triggered a wave of outflows for the business.