Australia shares rise as tech stocks track Wall Street strength

26 Oct, 2021

Australian shares rose on Tuesday, aided by tech stocks tracking a positive overnight finish on the Wall Street after the US earnings season kicked in to high gear, while gains in domestic energy stocks and miners further supported the index.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3% at 7465.2 points, as of 2338 GMT, set for its sixth straight session of gains.

On the Wall Street, Dow Industrials and S&P 500 closed at record highs overnight, bolstering tech stocks back home.

Aussie tech sector rose 1.5% with buy-now-pay-later giant Afterpay Ltd leading gains in the sub-index, up 4%.

Miners rose as much as 0.7% after iron prices recovered from last week's selloff.

Lithium miner Pilbara Minerals surged up to 8.6% and was among the top gainers in the sub-index after it announced the sealing of a joint venture deal with steelmaker POSCO.

Casino operator Crown Resorts was the top gainer in the benchmark index, soaring up to 12.8% on being granted a two-year grace period to improve its Melbourne casino operations, rather than being immediately stripped of its licence to operate in Australia's second-most populous city.

Shares of rival Star Entertainment also advanced to notch the second spot in the ASX 200 index.

Oil Search was up 1.3% after the company had reported that its third-quarter operating revenue more than doubled. Simultaneously, the country's biggest fuel supplier Ampol Ltd also delivered a quarterly profit surge, pushing shares up 1.1%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose as much as 0.4% following an extended weekend. Kathmandu Holdings climbed 3.1% and was the top gainer in the index.

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