Financials, gold stocks help Australian shares notch 6-week high

Australian shares rose to a six-week high on Monday, driven by gains in index heavyweight financials and gold stocks, while Wall Street’s strong rally at the end of last week also lifted investor sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.3% to 9,017.20 by 2338 GMT, crossing the 9,000 key psychological level for the first time since August 25.

Financials rose 0.5%, with top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia up 0.6%.

The remainder of the “Big Four” - Westpac, ANZ and National Australia Bank - climbed between 0.5% and 0.8%.

Gold-linked stocks gained more than 1% to hit a record high, as bullion prices surged to a fresh peak on US rate-cut expectations and concerns surrounding the economic impact of the US government shutdown.

The sub-index has nearly doubled in value so far this year, making it the top performer on the benchmark index, which has gained over 10%.

Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining climbed 1.3% and 2.1%, respectively, on Monday.

Morningstar earlier raised its fair value estimates by 5% for the two bullion producers on near-term gold price outlook. Copper miners helped the mining sub-index rise 0.5% after metal prices hit a 16-month high on Friday.

Sandfire Resources gained 2.3%, while Capstone Copper’s Australia-listed shares climbed 1.8%.

Market sentiment was also lifted by Wall Street’s strong gains on Friday.

The S&P 500 eked out a record closing high on Friday, with rate-cut expectations holding up as the US government shutdown went on for a third day.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index inched 0.1% higher to 13,528.63, ahead of a widely expected quarter-point interest rate cut by the country’s central bank on Wednesday.