Australian shares ended higher on Monday, with healthcare and banking stocks rising the most, as investors awaited the local central bank’s monetary policy decision on Tuesday, while a slump in mining firm Mineral Resources capped gains.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6% to 8,164.6 at the close of trade to log its strongest session since October 21.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to hold its interest rate at 4.35% on Tuesday and for the rest of the year, a Reuters’ poll showed.
“The RBA meeting tomorrow will be more about any changes in tone rather than any change in interest rates,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
“It’s possible we could see the RBA take a slightly softer tone after the recent pullback in headline CPI numbers.”
Australian shares post worst week in nearly 3 months; Macquarie skids
On the local bourse, the heaviest sub-index rose about 0.8%, with the country’s third-largest lender Westpac increasing about 0.9% after it upped its final dividend and extended a share buyback.
Healthcare stocks rose 1.2% to record their strongest session in over a month. Sector heavyweight CSL rose about 1.7% to log its best session since mid-August, and Telix Pharmaceuticals jumped 3.5% to close at a record high.
“Telix benefited from a new CMS payment rule in the US health sector, while CSL had a positive broker report from Citi.”
IT stocks added about 1.7%, tracking overnight gains in Wall Street peers.
Bucking the trend, miners fell 0.5% as iron ore prices struggled.
Mineral Resources slumped about 9.6% after the miner said its managing director Chris Ellison, will resign within 18 months after an internal probe found him guilty of using company funds for personal benefits.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% to finish the session at 12,590.6 points.
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