Australian shares edged higher on Monday, lifted by mining and energy stocks, even as investors remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) policy meeting this week to assess its trajectory of interest rates.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.4% at 7,429 points by 0032 GMT after falling 0.7% on Friday.
The RBA will hike interest rates once more by a quarter percentage point on Tuesday and pause for the rest of the year, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll.
Investor sentiment, meanwhile, was lifted after US data showed annual inflation slowed considerably in June.
In Sydney, heavyweight mining stocks gained 0.4% with sector majors BHP Group and Fortescue Metals Group climbing 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. Technology stocks tracked their Wall Street peers higher to climb 0.7% and scale their highest level since Jan. 19. Shares of Xero Ltd gained 1%.
Energy stocks rose 1.0% after oil prices strengthened, hitting their highest level since Nov. 8, 2022.
Financial stocks advanced 0.3% with the “Big Four” banks trading in green. Bucking the upbeat mood, gold stocks slipped 0.3%.
Among individual stocks, Origin Energy edged higher even after the company said its revenue from its share of the Australia Pacific LNG project fell 12.3% in the fourth quarter.
Australian shares fall after three-day rise, miners and banks top losers
Shares of IGO Ltd fell 2.7% after the lithium miner reported a 19% jump in its quarterly profit. Lynas Rare Earth Ltd rose 4.4% even as the company posted a 47% slump in its fourth-quarter revenue on lower prices for rare-earths products.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index advanced 0.2% to 11,966.42 points.
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