Australian shares rose more than 1% in broad-based buying on Tuesday as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend, with Newcrest Mining soaring on a sweetened offer from Newmont Corp.
The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 1.2% to 7,305.90 by 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since March 9, even as broader Asian markets were subdued after strong US jobs data pointed to the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates in May.
Gold stocks soared about 3%, touching their highest since April 2022 and leading gains on the benchmark index, after Newmont, the world’s largest gold producer, raised its offer for Newcrest to A$29.4 billion ($19.56 billion).
Shares of Newcrest gained more than 6%. Miners jumped more than 2% and were on track to snap a four-day losing streak. Sector giants BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group added between 1.7% and 2.7%.
Meanwhile, copper-gold miner OZ Minerals said its A$9.6 billion buyout by BHP Group had received approval from Vietnam’s Competition and Consumer Authority.
Energy stocks rose 0.6% after crude oil prices edged higher overnight as traders weighed supply cuts from OPEC+ that would tighten the global market against concerns about further interest rate hikes potentially hurting demand.
Financials added 0.8%, with the so-called “big four” banks trading in positive territory.
Banks, energy stocks weigh on Aussie shares; US payrolls data in focus
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% to 11,898.72.
New Zealand’s central bank is expected to raise interest rates by 25 bps in May to 5.50% following a surprise half-point move on Wednesday and then pause for the remainder of the year, a snap Reuters poll of economists showed on Thursday.
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