Australian shares rose on Tuesday, as gold miners hit an all-time high after the bullion’s record rally, while other sectors also gained in broad-based buying and investors remained focused on earnings reports from several heavyweight companies.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% to 8,502.9 points by 0008 GMT.
The benchmark fell 0.3% on Monday.
On the broader market, gold miners gained as much as 2.6% to hit a record high.
Gold prices continued their record rally and broke through the key $2,900 level for the first time, driven by safe-haven demand.
Northern Star Resources gained 3.1%, while Evolution Mining was up 2.5%. Financials rose 0.1% with lender Westpac rising 0.5%.
The country’s largest asset manager Macquarie rose 1.7% after posting a largely flat nine-month profit.
Investors will now look out for earnings from Commonwealth Bank of Australia, due Wednesday.
Energy firms gained 0.6% as oil prices shot up nearly 2% on Monday after posting their third successive week of losses.
Brent crude futures settled at $1.21, or 1.6%, at $75.87 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.32, or 1.9%, to $72.32 a barrel.
Healthcare sector jumped 0.4%, driven by biotech giant CSL, which was up 1.7% after posting a rise in its half-year profit.
Australian shares fall as financials and miners drag; earnings in focus
Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 167.01 points, or 0.38%, at 44,470.41 points on Monday.
The S&P 500 gained 40.45 points, or 0.67%, while Nasdaq gained 190.87 points, or 0.98%.
Among individual stocks, diversified investor SGH jumped as much as 9.4% to its record high after first-half earnings comfortably beat analysts’ estimates.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% to 12,898.8 points.
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