2 weeks Ago By Poppy Johnston
The Australian share market is tracking towards its third session of gains ahead of all-important quarterly inflation data that will set the scene for future interest rate moves. At midday on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 31.5 points, or 0.
4 per cent higher, at 8253.0, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 32.4 points, or 0.
4 per cent, to 8510.2 Investors are waiting for critical third-quarter domestic inflation data on Wednesday that will be watched closely for evidence price pressures are cooling enough for the Reserve Bank of Australia to start considering interest rate cuts. United States equities were a little higher ahead of key economic data on the labour market and inflation as well as earnings reports from tech high-performers such as Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Nvidia later in the week.
A drop-off in oil prices as Israel's retaliatory strikes on Iran targeted military sites and avoided oil facilities supported valuations outside the energy industry. National Australia Bank head of market economics Tapas Strickland said it was a quiet overnight session with little in the way of top-tier data or news until later in the week. "Indeed, the biggest moves occurred in Asia yesterday in response to the Japanese election outcome," he said.
Japanese stocks rose and the yen lost ground after the ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority at Sunday's national poll. At lunchtime, seven of the ASX's 11 sectors were moving higher, led by property stocks, up 0.9 per cent, and consumer discretionaries, up 0.
7 per cent. BHP had climbed 0.4 per cent, Fortescue was up 0.
4 per cent and Rio Tinto was tracking 0.5 per cent higher. Across the big four banks, ANZ was flat, NAB was up 0.
5 per cent, Westpac had gained 0.6 per cent and Commonwealth Bank had picked up 0.8 per cent.
The Australian dollar was buying 65.75 US cents, from 65.92 US cents at Monday's ASX close.
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