Australian stocks finished higher as the Real Estate and Financial sectors took the lead. Gold miners saw a boost, but Energy stocks faced a decline. Collins Foods experienced nearly a 10% increase following its half-year update.
The ASX closed 0.4% higher on Tuesday, defying the small drop in Wall Street shares the previous night. Despite a slight dip in US stocks after four consecutive weekly gains, major indexes were still set for their best month of 2023.
On the ASX, gains in Real Estate, Financial, and Healthcare sectors were countered by losses in Energy stocks. The Energy sector faced pressure from three consecutive drops in oil prices as traders awaited the upcoming OPEC+ meeting on November 30.
Zoran Kresovic from Aussie derivatives broker Eightcap commented, “Given the escalation of global geopolitical tensions and forecasted slower global economic growth predictions for 2024, we anticipate further output cuts going into the new year, adding potential stability in the price.
Gold miners, particularly Northern Star (ASX: NST) and Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) led the rally with a 3% increase each. The price of gold surpassed US$2,000 an ounce, currently trading at US$2,015, driven by the recent weakening of the US dollar.
Liam Hunt of Gold IRA Guide noted, “If current trends of economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures continue, there could be upward pressure on gold prices.
The Aussie dollar also continued its recent gains, now trading at US66.25c. Meanwhile, Australian retail sales for October were weaker than expected, dropping 0.2% from the previous month. This suggests that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s aggressive interest-rate increases may be starting to impact households.
Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, remarked, “It looks like consumers hit the pause button on some discretionary spending in October, likely waiting to take advantage of discounts during Black Friday sales events in November.