Australian shares rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, as miners jumped to a record high on strong commodity prices and tech stocks tracked overnight gains in their Wall Street peers.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.4% higher at 7,490.40, touching its highest level since April 22 last year.
Gains were however capped as financials slipped 0.3%, with the so-called “big four” banks closing in negative territory.
“Financial stocks faced selling pressure following today’s business sentiment survey, which highlighted weaker business conditions and a third consecutive month of negative confidence,” said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.
A survey from National Australia Bank Ltd showed its index of business conditions fell 8 points to +12 in December, although it remained well above its long-run average.
On Wednesday, both New Zealand and Australia will release data that is likely to show inflation peaked in the fourth quarter.
Markets still lean towards a quarter-point hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia next month, but talks of a pause are on the rise after softer jobs data last week. Mining stocks jumped 1.3%.
BHP Group gained 0.6% after the diversified miner signed a deal with Canada’s Mundoro Capital to explore copper in Serbia, while iron ore giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively.
Lithium stocks soared further, with Mineral Resources hitting its highest level on record, while Pilbara Minerals advanced for a fourth straight session.
Tech stocks help Australia shares notch up fourth day of gains
Brokerage UBS hiked its price outlook for lithium on tight supply, and upgraded its earnings forecasts for Australian lithium miners.
Technology stocks soared 1.3% after their US peers closed sharply higher overnight amid expectation of a smaller interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. ASX-listed shares of Block Inc climbed 5.7%, while Xero Ltd added 3.3%.
Energy and gold stocks too rose on strong underlying commodity prices.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.1% to 11,932.92.