Australia: Shares rise as gold, iron ore miners gain

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose for a third straight session on Tuesday, as the resource heavy index benefited from higher iron ore and gold prices, though subdued tech stocks capped further gains.

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index rose 0.6 per cent to 7,063.8 by 0037 GMT, after closing 0.1 per cent higher on Monday.

The mining subindex, the largest constituent of the benchmark, was among top gainers, firming up to 2 per cent and on track for its biggest intraday percentage change in a week as iron ore prices rose on a continuing surge in steel output.

Global miners Rio Tinto rose 1.6 per cent, while peer BHP gained as much as 2 per cent.

Gold stocks climbed more than 3 per cent as bullion prices scaled a more than three-month high, as US Treasury yields remained subdued.

Sector heavyweight Newcrest Mining Ltd gained as much as 3.3 per cent to hit a six-month high, while explorer Bellevue Gold rose up to 3.9 per cent.

Energy stocks rose after an overnight rise in oil prices, with Santos hitting a 10-week high.

Blue-chip financial stocks also saw gains with all the "Big four" banks trading in the positive territory.

A weak lead from Wall Street hurt domestic technology stocks, and weighed on overall sentiment.

Buy-now-pay-later giant Afterpay was down 1.6 per cent, while aerial imagery tech firm Nearmap fell 3.2 per cent.

James Hardie Industries slumped up to 6.2 per cent, as its higher forecast for fiscal 2022 missed brokerage Citi's estimates.

Shares of the Dublin-based company were on track for their worst session since Nov 10.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.1 per cent to 12,420.96, with Kathmandu Holdings and Meridian Energy leading gains.

REUTERS