Australian shares advance as banks, miners rally

Adrian Black |

Telstra shares fell 2.5 per cent ahead of its annual meeting as the ASX climbed higher at close.
Telstra shares fell 2.5 per cent ahead of its annual meeting as the ASX climbed higher at close.

Australia’s share market has started the week higher after banks rallied in anticipation of US earnings season, while rebounding metals prices supported mining stocks.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 66.6 points on Monday, up 0.76 per cent, to 8783.2, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 59.3 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 8937.

The heavyweight financials sector gained 1.6 per cent, its best session since early August, as Westpac led the big four banks higher amid optimism for US banking earnings due later in the week, Pepperstone head of research Chris Weston said.

“But I think with raw materials it’s more an organic play because copper prices are so strong at the moment and we’ve seen this mini-stimulus coming through in China last week,” Mr Weston told AAP.

ASX wrap
The S&P/ASX200 rose 66.6 points on Monday, up 0.76 per cent, to 8783.2. (Susie Dodds/AAP PHOTOS)

“At an index level, if you’ve got those two (banks and materials) working well, then you don’t really need much else to do well on the day.”

Oil prices eased during the session escalating conflict between Saudi forces and Houthi rebels, while US politicians debated the legality of a plan to suspend Russian sanctions to shore up global diesel supplies.

Ampol shares dipped more than three per cent to $42.65, while Woodside, Santos and Viva also lost ground.

Resurgent copper prices lit a match under BHP shares, which surged more than two per cent to $62.39, adding a cool $7.6 billion to the market value of Australia’s largest company.

Gold stocks ran out of steam after a strong early lead, as the precious metal eased to $US4189 ($A6003) an ounce against a rising greenback.

Real estate trusts tumbled 1.5 per cent, while consumer facing sectors also came under selling pressure, with staples and cyclicals dropping more than 0.4 per cent each as local economic concerns continued to weigh on confidence.

In company news, Telstra shares tumbled 2.5 per cent to $4.65 ahead of the group’s annual meeting on Tuesday, with shareholders expected to grill executives over the July outage that impacted millions of customers.

ASX wrap.
Telstra shareholders expecting answers about outages at the telco’s Tuesday annual meeting. (George Chan/AAP PHOTOS)

CommBank, Treasury Wines, Origin and South32 will hold their AGMs later in the week, along with trading updates from AMP and Bank of Queensland.

Shares in NZ-headquartered aged care provider Ryman Healthcare surged 4.4 per cent after serviced apartment demand drove a strong second quarter performance.

Gina Rinehart-backed Arafura secured an offtake agreement with a global raw materials company working under the US government’s Project Vault scheme to reduce secure rare earths supplies outside of China, which dominates the market.

The Australian dollar is buying 69.77 US cents, down from 69.83 US cents on Friday at 5pm.

ON THE ASX:

* The S&P/ASX200 gained 66.6 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 8783.2

* The broader All Ordinaries rose 59.3 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 8937

One Australian dollar trades for:

* 69.77 US cents, from 69.83 US cents at 5pm AEST on Friday

* 110.46 Japanese yen, from 110.45 Japanese yen

* 62.28 euro cents, from 62.17 euro cents

* 52.69 British pence, from 52.73 pence

* 124.48 NZ cents, from 124.25 NZ cents

AAP