Australian shares climb as investors gear up for miners' production reports

Australian shares climbed to their highest level in more than a week on Monday as mining and technology stocks gained, while investors awaited a busy slate of quarterly production reports, including Rio Tinto’s update due on Wednesday.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3% at 8,739.80 points, as of 2318 GMT, after a 0.4% rise last week. The benchmark rose as much as 0.5% earlier in the session, hitting its highest level since October 1.

Investors were positioning for a busy reporting season in the resources sector, with Rio Tinto set to kick off quarterly updates from Australia’s major miners later this week, while BHP and South32 are scheduled to report production results next week.

The results are expected to offer fresh insight into production trends and demand for key commodities such as iron ore and copper, providing a gauge of the outlook for the resources sector.

Index heavyweight miners gained more than 2% and were set for their best day since September 18, helped by higher copper prices.

Gold stocks gained 1.4%, lifted by surging bullion prices.

BHP rose 2.5%, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue gained 1% each. Technology stocks rose as much as 2.7%, hitting their highest level in more than a month, after Wall Street’s gains at the end of last week.

WiseTech Global and Xero jumped more than 3.5% each. Investors also turned their attention to the release of minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s September policy meeting on Tuesday, which could offer fresh insights into policymakers’ assessment of the economy amid rising oil prices and a rout in global bond markets.

Financials inched 0.4% higher, with the “Big Four” banks trading in positive territory.

Energy stocks bucked the trend, slipping 0.5%, with Santos and Woodside Energy losing 1% each. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose slightly to 13,768.42 points.