Australia: Shares track Wall Street rally to open higher

[BENGALURU] Australian shares opened higher on Tuesday, with healthcare leading the gains, as the benchmark index tracked an overnight rally on Wall Street after US technology stocks rebounded from a recent selloff sparked by surging bond yields.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.22 per cent at 6,752.5 points by 2330 GMT. The index closed 0.7 per cent higher on Monday.

The three major US indexes rose between 0.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq outpacing its peers. A climb in Treasury yields have being weighing on high-flying technology stocks since mid-February.

Shares of export-reliant healthcare stocks rose 1 per cent as the Australian dollar weakened. A weaker local currency tends to help healthcare companies earning in US dollars.

Medical devices maker Resmed Inc gained 1.7 per cent, and drugmaker CSL was up 0.6 per cent.

Technology stocks mirrored their Wall Street peers to rise 0.7 per cent, with buy-now-pay-later company Afterpay and artificial intelligence firm Appen advancing 1.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

The mining sub-index was also trading higher, with heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto gaining 1.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

Rio Tinto said on Tuesday it would form an indigenous advisory group to improve protocols to manage indigenous culture, months after destruction of a sacred heritage site for a mine.

Utility stocks advanced 1.4 per cent, with power supplier AGL Energy extending gains for a third consecutive session.

The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 703 while 441 declined.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.5 per cent, largely helped by gains among utility and industrial stocks.

REUTERS