Australia Market climbs 1.15%

Australia stock market finished session higher on Monday, 31 October 2022, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, as investors took heart from gains on Wall Street on Friday and hopes of a likely modest interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 77.74 points, or 1.15%, to 6,863.46. The broader All Ordinaries index advanced 81.29 points, or 1.17%, to 7,054.81. The S&P/ASX200 index gained 6% in October

The top performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were HOME CONSORTIUM and GRAINCORP, up 7.87% and 7.86% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were NEXTDC and WHITEHAVEN Co, down 5.1% and 4.1% respectively.

Financials were higher, with the big four banks National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, and Westpac climbing between 0.6% and 1.3%.

Energy stocks were mostly higher. Beach energy gained almost 1% and Origin Energy rose more than 3%, while Woodside Energy and Santos fell 0.1% to 0.3% each.

Shares of materials and resources declined on weak iron ore prices, with Rio Tinto, BHP Group and OZ Minerals falling between 0.3% and 1%

Shares in EML payments closed steep lower after the payments technology company updated investors on issues regulatory issues in Ireland and the U.K.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday showed retail sales rose 0.6% in September from August to a record A$35.1 billion, thanks to spending on food, clothing and eating out with consumption staying surprisingly resilient in the face of surging inflation and higher interest rates.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar was trading at $0.641 on Monday.

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