Australian shares nudged up 0.1 percent on Tuesday, buoyed by gains in industrials and healthcare stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose to 5,116.7 at the close of trade in the fifth consecutive session of gains. The benchmark has rallied nearly 2 percent since touching a two-year trough last week.
During midday trade, industrial shares led the charge with defence ship manufacturer Austal Ltd up 4.7 percent after clinching a contract with the US navy for designing vessels. Austal's stock prices touched a 1-year low last week. Also with the wind in its sail was rail freight operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd which bounced 1.7 percent, pulling away from seven-month lows.
The energy sector outperformed after oil futures jumped away from 2009 lows. Caltex Australia rose 2.5 percent, while Oil Search added 1.7 percent and Woodside Petroleum 0.7 percent. However, Origin was down 0.2 percent after it revealed plans to reduce its exposure to low oil prices. Evan Lucas, market analyst at IG, predicts another tough year ahead for oil prices, seeing $20 a barrel "probable" in the first half of 2016. US crude futures and Brent futures last hovered near $34 to $37 a barrel.
The country's "Big Four" banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank - fell as much as 1 percent. Miners remained in the red even though the price of iron ore showed more signs of stabilisation following a recent tumble. Rio Tinto was down 0.2 percent and BHP Billiton 0.1 percent lower. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rallied 0.4 percent or 27.15 points to finish the session at 6,147.970, within striking distance of a record high of 6,162.97 touched earlier this month.