Good set up for news tomorrow MELBOURNE--Australian shares...

Good set up for news tomorrow


MELBOURNE--Australian shares rebounded Tuesday following an overnight rally by U.S. stocks, only to fade through the afternoon to finish just modestly higher.
Resources stocks helped drive the local market as crude oil, copper and other commodities perked up in Asia trade.
After being as much as 0.6% higher early in the day, a last-minute drop left the S&P/ASX 200 hanging on to a closing gain of 9.1 points, or 0.2%, to 5478.3. It followed losses for the market in the previous three sessions.
For the day, 5.6 billion shares were traded worth about 5.4 billion Australian dollars (US$4.1 billion), Commonwealth Securities said.
Wall Street provided a positive lead, with broad gains Monday wiping out losses Friday after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the case for an interest-rate increase had improved.
Oil prices edged higher in Asia trade on bargain hunting, while metals prices climbed back from recent losses.
Among Australian energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum nudged 0.1% higher, Oil Search climbed 1.6% and Beach Energy jumped 2.7% after ending Monday flat following the release of its annual earnings report.
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively, while iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals Group was 3.9% stronger and gold miner Newcrest Mining was 2% higher.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia led the major banks with a 0.4% rise, while Australian & New Zealand Banking and National Australia Bank each added 0.2%. Westpac lost 0.6%.
Ramsay Health Care lifted the healthcare sector, rallying 7.8% after it reported a 15% increase in full-year profit thanks to acquisitions in France and development projects in its home market.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 30, 2016 03:13 ET (07:13 GMT)
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