Australian shares edged higher on Tuesday, helped by commodity stocks, as market participants focussed on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) policy meeting due later in the day to assess the central bank’s stance on interest rates.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% to 7,410.40 points by 0036 GMT.
The benchmark closed 0.1% higher on Monday.
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 Reuters Poll.
Although the RBA has raised rates by a total of 400 basis points since May 2022, inflation was still running at 6.0% in the last quarter, double the upper end of the 2-3% target range.
Heavyweight mining stocks rose 1.4%, with sector majors BHP Group and Rio Tinto up 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively.
Gold stocks advanced 2.1% to post their biggest intraday jump since July 13, tracking an uptick in bullion prices. Shares of Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining each rose about 2.0%.
Energy stocks jumped 0.9% after oil prices hit multi-month highs overnight. Financial stocks retreated 0.4%, with all of the so called “big four” banks trading in negative territory.
Among individual stocks, Lynas Rare Earths rose 5.5% after the company signed an updated contract with the US Department of Defense for the construction of the heavy rare-earths component of its rare-earths processing facility in Texas.
Lithium miner Patriot Battery Metals, said Albemarle would invest C$109 million ($82.6 million) in the company for a 5% stake, sending its Australia-listed shares up 11.9%.
Miners, energy stocks lift Australian shares; central bank in focus
Credit Corp Group fell 14.4% to become the top loser in the benchmark index after posting weak full-year results and providing bleak outlook.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.6% to 11,986.05.
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