Australia shares edged higher in choppy trade on Tuesday, after technology stocks tracked a robust overnight Nasdaq session, even as investors cautiously awaited the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy outcome expected later in the day.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.2%, or 17.4 points, at 6,994, as of 1230 GMT, after dipping 0.1% earlier in the session. The benchmark closed 0.2% lower on Monday.
A Reuters poll showed that the Australian central bank will end its bond-buying programme, but is expected to wait until November before it responds to inflationary pressures ahead of its first rate hike.
The country's underlying inflation, which surged at its fastest annual pace since 2014 in the December quarter, suggests the recent rise in price pressures was not as benign and transitory as policymakers thought it would be.
Information technology stocks advanced for a third straight day to gain up to 3.8% and scale a one-week high, tracking their US peers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Australia shares set for worst month since March 2020 as Fed stance weighs
Australian software services provider Xero Ltd and investor services provider Computershare Ltd climbed 0.5% and 2.5%, respectively.
Shares in the financial sector also gained, with Westpac Banking Corp and Macquarie Group advancing 0.5% and 2.2%, respectively.
An uptick in bullion prices lifted gold stocks, which surged about 2% to their best intraday session since Jan. 20, with Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources gaining above 1% each.
Miners extended losses to drop more than 2%, with heavyweights Rio Tinto Ltd and BHP Group Ltd slipping more than 2% each.
Shares of Boral Ltd surged as much as 6.5%, after the building materials maker said it would return A$3 billion ($2.12 billion) to shareholders, from proceeds from the sales of its North America units.
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