Australia: Shares rise on tech, miners boost; banks cap gains

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose slightly for a second straight session on Tuesday, led by mining and technology stocks, although the gains were capped by weakness in heavyweight banking stocks.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.1 per cent to 7,510.3 by 0039 GMT, after having closed 0.2 per cent higher on Monday.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.33 per cent, while S&P 500 E-minis futures were up 0.1 per cent.

Domestic technology stocks tracked a strong finish on Wall Street overnight after sentiment there was lifted from last week's dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve.

Buy now, pay later giant Afterpay added 1.3 per cent, while aerial imagery firm Nearmap Ltd rose 1.9 per cent.

A sub-index of miners added 0.5 per cent, with global miner Rio Tinto and rival BHP Group Ltd adding 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively.

Heavyweight financials dropped 0.5 per cent, with all of the country's "Big Four" banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac Banking Corp - shedding between 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent.

Healthcare stocks gained on a jump of 1 per cent in CSL, the biggest company on the sub-index. Shares of the biotechnology company hit its highest since Nov 25, 2020.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases in Australia continued to rise, with New South Wales - the epicentre of the country's current outbreak - declaring a record 1,290 new cases on Monday. Its premier Gladys Berejiklian said intensive care cases in the state will hit a peak in October.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was up 0.3 per cent at 13,226.55, with healthcare and utility stocks leading gains in the region.

SKY Network Television added 4.6 per cent to hit its highest since April 19. The stock was also the top gainer on the benchmark index.

REUTERS