ASX closes up 0.3 per cent on another quiet trading day

The ASX closed up 0.3 per cent for the third straight day, as investors wait for clarity from global markets.

The Australian sharemarket rose for the third straight day on Tuesday, with consumer discretionary and technology stocks outperforming on another quiet day on the market.

The benchmark ASX 200 index gained by 27.70 points, or 0.34 per cent, to finish the session at 8,249.20 points

The broader All Ordinaries rose by 27.70 points, or 0.33 per cent, to close at 8,505.90 points.

The Australian dollar fell again, 0.08 per cent at 65.78 US cents.

Australia’s market traded up off the back of a strong showing on Wall Street overnight. The Dow Jones index was up 0.7 per cent to 42,387 points, the broader S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent to 5,823-points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.3 per cent to 18,567 points.

Tuesday was a quiet day in terms of trading volume, as investors kept money on the side ahead of the US election and earning season.

The ASX is up off the back of strong rises overseas. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

The rise in the US markets comes ahead of a big week for earnings, with five of the magnificent seven in Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon and Microsoft announcing results over the next week.

Overall, seven of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index.

Consumer discretionary was the best performing sector, gaining 0.76 per cent during Tuesday’s trading.

For the second day in a row, buy now-pay later company Zip was the strongest performing share after giving a strong market update.

The share price surged 11.82 per cent to $3.12, its highest price since February 2022, off the back of strong figures out of both its US and ANZ businesses.

The company said it delivered group cash earnings before tax depreciation and amortisation of $31.7m for the first quarter, up 233.7 per cent.

“During the quarter, we refreshed our purpose to ‘unlocking financial potential, together’, to

better reflect Zip’s strategic priorities and our growth opportunity,” Zip CEO and managing director Cynthia Scott said.

Australia’s most popular department stores Myer on Tuesday announced it would acquire Premier’s apparel brands. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Premier Investment’s share price soared 9.90 per cent to $33.94 after it was agreed that Myer would acquire Premier’s Apparel Brands business in Australia and New Zealand in exchange for new shares.

The miners were also some of the big winners led by Mineral Resources, whose share price skyrocketed 7.15 per cent to $37, investors giving the tick of approval to its response to three queries from the ASX last Friday.

AMP capital head of investment strategy and chief economist Shane Oliver said part of the miners’ strength came from a falling Aussie dollar.

“Virtually all miners are paid in US dollars so when you translate their earnings back into Aussie dollars it’s worth more,” he said.

Mr Oliver said the falling Australian dollar could be a good thing for the majority of the ASX 200 companies.

“A lower currency actually benefits most of the companies on the ASX, but where it can be a bit iffy is for small caps and airlines who have higher fuel costs,” he said.

Originally published as ASX closes up 0.3 per cent on another quiet trading day