Australian shares closed marginally higher on Monday, with tech stocks leading the advance after a strong Wall Street rally at the end of last week, while miners snapped two days of gains.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.1% higher at 7,457.3, extending gains to the fourth session and touching its highest since April 22 last year - nearly two weeks before the central bank began its most aggressive tightening cycle in decades.
Trading volume was low as some major Asian markets including key trading partner China were closed for holidays. Technology stocks emerged as the top gainers on the bourse, rising 1.3%. ASX-listed shares of Block Inc soared 6.1%, while Xero Ltd and Computershare Ltd rose 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively.
The Nasdaq’s Friday jump gave Australian tech stocks this strong start, said Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at eToro.
Energy stocks rose 0.9% as traders continued to focus on brightening economic prospects in key crude oil buyer China.
Woodside Energy Group gained 1.7%, while Santos Ltd inched higher.
Capping the benchmark index’s gains, mining stocks eased 0.1%. Iron ore giant BHP Group fell about 1.1%, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group slipped 0.6% and 1%, respectively.
“Iron ore miners have had a great start to the year… So, it’s not unusual to see both stocks (BHP and Rio) having a breather,” Gilbert said.
Meanwhile, lithium stocks continued to put up a good show, with Pilbara Mineral hitting a seven-week peak, while Mineral Resources closed higher for the fourth straight session.
Australia shares reverse course to hit nine-month high led by miners
Among individual stocks, South32 rose 1.3% after the diversified miner posted a 24.4% jump in second-quarter metallurgical coal output that was in line with expectations.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.2% to 11,948.72.
Serko Ltd marked its best session since August 2021 after the business travel software maker hiked its annual revenue forecast.
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