Australian Shares Rise for Fourth Session as Banks and Miners Lead

Australian shares experienced gains for the fourth consecutive session on Tuesday, driven primarily by the banking sector and supported by mining companies. Fortescue saw a boost due to increased quarterly iron ore shipments.

The S&P/ASX 200 index increased by 0.6%, reaching 8,043.30 points by 1251 GMT. The index had previously closed 0.4% higher on Monday. Financial stocks, sensitive to interest rate changes, advanced for the ninth straight session in anticipation of the upcoming first-quarter inflation data scheduled for release on Wednesday.

Performance of Major Banks

The “Big Four” lenders saw gains ranging from 0.1% to 0.4%.

Inflation Data Anticipation

The forthcoming inflation figures are projected to show a slight decrease, strengthening the argument for a potential interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia in May.

Mining Sector Gains

The mining sector collectively rose by 0.4%. Fortescue, a leading iron ore producer globally, reached its highest level since March 28, driven by higher third-quarter iron ore shipments after overcoming export challenges caused by a train derailment the previous year.

Whitehaven Coal, a major independent coal miner in the country, saw a significant jump of up to 4.4%, reaching its highest point since April 15. This surge followed the company’s announcement of producing 9.2 million metric tons of coal in the third quarter, exceeding consensus estimates.

BHP Group and Rio Tinto also saw increases, rising by 0.3% and 0.8%, respectively.

Energy and Technology Sectors

Energy stocks experienced a 0.9% increase, reaching their highest level since April 4. This was primarily driven by a 0.3% rise in Woodside Energy after the company approved a substantial $17.5 billion Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Louisiana.

Technology stocks also performed well, gaining 1.3%, while healthcare stocks added 0.3%.

New Zealand Market

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index experienced a slight decline of 0.1%, settling at 12,086.05 points.