Market wrap: Aussie shares lift as energy stocks rally

The Australian sharemarket lifted on Tuesday on the back of a rally in energy stocks and some relief from a rattled Wall St.

The local sharemarket lifted on Tuesday on the back of a relief rally from Wall St and a rebound in energy stocks.

The benchmark ASX200 climbed 23.8 points, or 0.3 per cent, to close at 8011.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index lifted 25.1 points, or 0.31 per cent, to settle at 8217.

Tech stocks rose 0.36 per cent to 3345.8.

It was a choppy day of trading, with the market jumping 0.8 per cent in morning trade to hit 8057 points before fading in the late afternoon. The gains were broadbased, with nine of 11 industry sectors ending in the green, led by energy with a 0.93 per cent lift.

Oil prices rose 1.54 per cent overnight on Monday to hit $68.71 a barrel on fears a hurricane bearing down on Louisiana could impact production and refining operations on the US Gulf Coast.

Beach Energy added 2.8 per cent to $1.10 a share, while Woodside rose 0.84 per cent to $23.99 and Santos climbed 0.58 per cent to $6.92.

Financials booked a 0.62 per cent gain, with Macquarie the star of the day rising 1.63 per cent to notch a fresh record high of $227.36.

Energy stocks like Woodside lifted on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Sharon Smith

Commonwealth Bank hit a record high in intraday trading, reaching $145 at 12pm, before settling to $143.77 at the closing bell for a 0.57 per cent gain.

Westpac jumped 1.38 per cent to $32.31, while ANZ slipped 0.38 per cent to $31.40 and NAB ended flat at $38.95.

The big miners were mixed as iron ore hovered around $91 a tonne.

BHP retreated 0.26 per cent to $38.66, Rio Tinto edged up 0.26 per cent to $107.11 and Fortescue lost nearly 2 per cent to $15.88.

The lift on the local bourse followed a relief rally from Wall St overnight on Monday, which IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore credited to investor hope that Wednesday’s second Presidential debate and US inflation data could ease lingering uncertainties in markets.

“With recent polls showing Donald Trump and Kamala Harris neck-and-neck in the race for the White House, a strong debate performance by either candidate could play a crucial role in stabilising market sentiment as voters and betting markets consolidate behind a leader,” he said.

“At the same time, if upcoming US inflation data comes in below expectations, the Fed has increased flexibility to implement a super-sized 25bp rate cut next week, should the committee think it warranted.”

Wednesday’s US inflation print comes down at 10.30pm AEST.

The ASX200 booked a positive session on Tuesday, rising 0.3 per cent. Picture: Newswire/ Gaye Gerard.

The Dow Jones gained 484 points, or 1.2 per cent, to settle at 40,829, while the S and P 500 index added 1.16 points to 5471.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.16 per cent to 16,884.

The top gainer on the ASX200 was uranium miner Paladin Energy, which advanced 5.85 per cent to $8.86.

The largest laggard was insurance broker Steadfast Group, which slumped 10.74 per cent to $5.32 after responding to an ABC report into the company.

“The ABC’s coverage raises concerns around strata industry transparency,” the company said in an ASX statement.

“Steadfast is fully committed to a transparent and competitive marketplace that delivers the best value to customers.

“All of Steadfast’s businesses, including brokerages and underwriting agencies, operate independently and actively compete with each other.

“Steadfast refutes the ABC allegation that our brokers are ‘misleading’ customers.”

The Aussie dollar gained 0.11 per cent to buy US66.6c at the closing bell.

Originally published as Market wrap: Aussie shares lift as energy stocks rally