Australian shares climb 1% on banking, tech boost

Hub24

18/10/2022 02:04

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Australian equities rose more than 1%
on Tuesday, as banking and technology stocks outperformed the
index after Britain reversed course on an economic plan, while
miner Rio Tinto  RIO.AX  traded higher despite tempering its
annual iron ore shipments. 
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  was up 1.2% at 6,743 points,
as of 0005 GMT. The benchmark closed 1.4% lower on Monday. 
    The mining sub-index  .AXMM  gained 1.2%, with BHP Group
 BHP.AX  and Fortescue Metals Group  FMG.AX  each advancing more
than 1%. 
    Shares of Rio Tinto  RIO.AX  climbed 0.6% even as the miner
downgraded its forecast for shipments after its third-quarter
iron ore deliveries fell amid weak global demand, particularly
in top metals consumer China.
    Lifting sentiment, Rio said in a separate statement it would
"modernise" a nearly 50-year-old agreement with Wright
Prospecting to develop the Rhodes Ridge iron ore project. 
    Gold miner St Barbara  SBM.AX  dropped to hit its lowest
level in seven years after it slashed production outlook for the
year. 
    The Reserve Bank of Australia expects to raise interest
rates further over the coming months, its deputy governor said,
adding the bank can achieve a similar rise in rates to its
global peers through smaller hikes. 
    Australian markets tracked Wall Street's overnight rally
after a financial policy reversal in Britain spurred risk
appetite in investors.  .N  
    Financials  .AXFJ  led gains on the bourse with a 1.6% jump.
Australia's "Big Four" banks rose between 1.4% and 2%.
    Data solutions company Hub24  HUB.AX  posted its biggest
intraday jump in 2-1/2 years after a strong quarterly update. 
    Tech stocks  .AXIJ  advanced nearly 3% to jump most since
Oct. 5. 
    Shares of Tyro Payments  TYR.AX  rose 3.2% after the payment
terminals firm confirmed it was approached by Westpac Banking
Corp  WBC.AX , among others, for a potential takeover.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N31I3RJ
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  rose 0.8%
to 10,876.82 points. 
    The country's annual inflation accelerated 7.2% in the third
quarter, exceeding expectations and just below three-decade
highs.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N31I2IO
 (Reporting by Anan Ashraf in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Anan.Ashraf@thomsonreuters.com))
 
((For more information on DIARIES & DATA:
 U.S. earnings diary   RESF/US   
 Wall Street Week Ahead    .N/O 
 Global Economy Week Ahead  DATA/ 
................................................................
For latest top breaking news across all markets           NEWS1 ))