Investors have started the new year in as ebullient a mood as they ended the last one in, driving the local sharemarket to its highest close since June 2015.
Buoyed by strong Chinese manufacturing data that indicated the economic rebound in Australia's main trading partner remains intact, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index added 1.2 per cent to 5733.2 points, outpacing gains on other regional bourses.
On the sharemarket, the euphoria was broad-based, with all sectors advancing significantly for the day, albeit on low trading volumes with many professional traders still on holiday.
"It appears the bears are still in hibernation. Any signs of positivity such as today's Chinese manufacturing PMI overshoot are creating exaggerated moves to the upside," said Atlantic Pacific Securities client adviser Gary Huxtable.
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Overnight the S&P 500 traded about 0.4 percent higher, with telecommunications leading advancers. The Nasdaq composite advanced around 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average gained about 40 points, with Walt Disney and Visa contributing the most gains.
Crude prices hit 18-month highs amid hopes that a deal struck between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to cut production will reduce excess supply. At session highs, U.S. crude prices had gained more than 2 percent. As of 1:43 p.m. ET, however, U.S. oil were down 2.18 percent at $52.55 per barrel as concerns that Libya will increase production dampened investor sentiment.
Chinese stocks closed higher on the back of strong domestic data and of crude's spike, with the Shanghai composite rising 1.04 percent.
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Gold and silver prices ended the first full U.S. day session of the new year with decent gains Tuesday. Bargain hunting in the cash markets and short covering in the futures markets were featured. A sharp rise in the U.S. dollar index overnight did limit buying interest in the gold and silver markets early on, but when the dollar index backed well off its daily high the gold and silver buyers stepped in.
Gold $1158
HUI + 4%
AUD Gold $1603
