Markets in the United States were closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Meanwhile, the European stocks registered gains after EU elections. Pro-EU forces retained a majority in the 28-nation bloc's parliament despite the rise of nationalist parties in a region-wide vote. Britain's exchange remained closed for a bank holiday.
Shares of materials and resources were higher, buoyed by higher iron ore prices. Rio Tinto was gaining more than 3% after Goldman Sachs upgraded Rio Tinto to a 'buy' rating and increased the target price of Rio Tinto to A$108.40 based on expectations iron ore shortages will keep the price over $100 per tonne for several months. Goldman Sachs now forecasted 30-40 million tonne iron ore market deficits in 2019 and 2020. Fortescue Metals rose more than 2% and BHP Group added almost 2% following a solid lift in iron ore prices on Friday and over the week..
Energy stocks were higher after crude oil prices rose in Asian trades Tuesday. Santos added more than 1%, Woodside Petroleum rose almost 1% and Oil Search was up 0.6%.
Shares of banks and financials were firmer. The big four banks - ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac - were up in a range of 0.5% to 1%.
Among individual stocks, electronics retailer JB HiFi were up 1.3% to A$28.30, the highest price in 15 months. The stock has been rising steady since the end of April, when it reaffirmed its guidance for its profit to grow by between 1.6% and 5.1%, despite its sales growing at a slower rate. Comparable sales at its Australian JB Hi-Fi stores grew at 1.5% in the third quarter, compared to 4.3% growth in the same quarter last year.
Vocus (VOC) was up 17% after opening its books to a European private equity firm for a proposed $3.3bn takeover. VOC is behind dodo and iPrimus brands.
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CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was up against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The Australian dollar was quoted at $0.6925, up from $0.6833 on Monday.
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