ASX 200 rises as energy stocks gain on oil prices; Brambles falls on CVC talks

ASX climbs as energy and utility stocks bounce. Lynas Rare Earths and MinRes rally, Brambles ends worst performer, Cannon-Brookes buys more AGL shares and ANZ tips 40bps June hike.

Commodity prices may provide direction for the Australian market after a mixed lead from Wall Street. Picture: Christian Gilles / NCA NewsWire

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Tuesday, May 17. The Australian share market rose for a third session, buoyed by gains among energy, utilities and materials sectors. It comes as Brambles ends market laggard after CVC pulls out of takeover talks due to market volatility. 

The S&P/ASX 200 index finished 0.3 per cent or 19.47 points higher to 7112.50 after hitting an intraday high of 7129.50 at 10.30am.

European markets were mostly weaker with the exception of the resource-heavy UK sharemarket, which climbed 0.6 per cent overnight.

Trading was also subdued in the US with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 0.1 per cent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both fell 0.4 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively.

Among commodities, crude oil climbed amid optimism that Covid cases are starting to recede in China, including Shanghai which is expected to re-open in June. The US Nymex crude added 3.3 per cent to $US114.09 a barrel.

And iron ore added 1.2 per cent to $US132.5 a tonne.