Australian shares edge higher as miners and gold stocks shine

Australian shares edged higher on Tuesday, as gains in mining and gold stocks outweighed losses in index heavyweight banks, while investors braced for a key inflation report that could shape near-term rate-cut expectations.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% to 8,538.2 by 2331 GMT.

The benchmark jumped 1.3% on Monday to log its strongest session in more than four months.

Australia’s statistics bureau will roll out the new complete monthly CPI data on Wednesday, replacing the old and partial series.

Even though the new data carries little weight with the Reserve Bank of Australia for now, investors are eyeing housing and market services prices for clearer inflation signals.

Swaps imply little chance of a rate cut until May next year when a move is about 40% priced in, after an inflation surge in the last quarter dashed hopes of further policy easing.

Rate-sensitive financials slipped 0.6% as the “big four” banks, under pressure in recent weeks from lofty valuations, fell between 0.1% and 1%.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank slid as much as 6.7% to emerge as the top laggard on the sub-index, after revealing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing controls that undermined key risk frameworks for the bank.

China exports-reliant miners climbed 1.4%, after iron ore prices rebounded on Monday, spurred by policy support headlines from Beijing.

BHP extended gains, rising 0.5% after the world’s biggest listed miner scrapped on Monday its final bid for Anglo American, while peer Rio Tinto jumped over 2%.

Gold stocks climbed 3.3% and were set for their best session in two weeks, after bullion prices surged more than 1% overnight on growing bets for a US rate cut in December.

Northern Star Resources jumped nearly 3%.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3% to 13,539.83.

The country’s central bank will meet on Wednesday where a 25-basis-point rate cut is fully priced in.