Australia Market advances on Wall Street's lead, RBA minutes

The Australian market closed higher on Tuesday, 16 March 2021, thanks to a Wall Street advance overnight and better than expected Australia house price data. Meanwhile, investors also took heart from minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting, which reiterated that interest rates would remain lower for longer until the economy gets back on its feet and unemployment rates lower. However, market gains capped amid a wait-and-see mood before the start of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy-setting meeting later on Tuesday.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 advanced 54.12 points, or 0.8%, to 6,827.14. The broader All Ordinaries grew up 59.84 points, or 0.85%, to 7,078.98.

Most of ASX sectors inclined except materials and energy, which was dragged down by three days of declining oil prices. Technology stocks were top gainers, with Afterpay adding 3% and Altium finishing over 2% stronger. The healthcare sector boosted by industry behemoth CSL's 2.3% climb and Cochlear's near 2% gain. The heavyweight financial sector closed slight higher, with the "Big Four" banks climbing between 0.4% and 0.9% higher.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia House Price Index Up 3.0% On Quarter In Q4- Australia house price index was up 3 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, following the 0.8 percent increase in the previous three months. On a yearly basis, the house price index gained 3.6 percent, slowing from 4.5 percent in the three months prior.

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