Australia stock market finished session higher on Monday, 05 June 2023, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, on the back of strength in mining and consumer related stocks, thanks to upbeat cues from Wall Street last Friday. However, market gains capped ahead of the Reserve Bank's policy meeting on Tuesday. After last week's larger-than-expected 5.75% increase in award-linked wages, hotter-than-expected inflation figures and data showing a jump in capital city house values, financial markets put the chance of a rate rise at the RBA's meeting on Tuesday. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index advanced 71.13 points, or 1%, to 7,216.27. The broader All Ordinaries index added 69.96 points, or 0.95%, to 7,401.19. Total 9 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Consumer Discretionary was the best performing sector, gaining +1.75%, followed by materials (up 1.49%), healthcare (up 1.02%), and financial (up 0.98%) sectors. Information technology was the worst performing sector, falling 1.08%. The top performing stocks in the S&P/ASX 200 Index were BRAINCHIP HOLDINGS and LOVISA HOLDINGS, up 5.75% and 5.25% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were CAPRICORN METALS and SILVER LAKE RESOURCES, down 4.67% and 4.1% respectively. Consumer-related stocks led gains on the local bourse as Wesfarmers lifted 2.1%, Aristocrat Leisure gained 1.1% and IDP Education jumped 3.7%. Materials and resources stocks gained after a 2% lift in iron ore prices. Iron ore giants BHP (up 1.7%), Fortescue (up 3.6%) and Rio Tinto (up 1.3%) gained. Information technology stocks closed softer on profit taking following a recent rally. Xero (down 1.8%) and Altium (down 1.2%) both dropped. ECONOMIC NEWS: The latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Monday that services PMI continued to expand in May with score of 52.1. That's down from 53.7 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index slipped to 51.6 in May from 53.0 in April. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday that company gross operating profits in Australia were up 0.5% on quarter in the first quarter of 2023, following the upwardly revised 12.7% jump in the previous three months. Company profits pre-tax tumbled 7.5% on quarter after surging 22.2% in the previous quarter. Business inventories were up 1.2% on quarter, following the upwardly revised 0.3% gain in the three months prior. CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar stood at 0.6508 against greenback, up 0.08% from previous trading day closure at 0.6503 after trading between range of 0.6484-0.6520. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |