Australia Market extends gain on upbeat offshore lead

Headline indices of the Australia market were higher on Wednesday, 17 October 2018, as investors continued hunting beaten down shares on tracking positive lead from Wall Street overnight. Almost all ASX issues inclined, with shares in consumer discretionary, consumer staples, healthcare, financials, materials, industrials, and financials issues being notable gainers. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index added 69.21 points, or 1.2%, at 5,939.09 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 69.32 points, or 1.16%, to 6,047.13 points.

Shares of materials and resources companies traded lower, with BHP Billiton down 0.7% at A$33.66 as global miner BHP cut its fiscal 2019 guidance for copper production, citing outages at key mines. BlueScope Steel shares fell 3.4% to A$15.20 after the company announced it had bought a 15.8% stake in New Zealand-based Steel & Tube Holdings, although it ruled out taking over the company.

Shares of banks and financial players were higher, with Commonwealth Bank up 1.7% at A$66.90, while Westpac advanced 1.6% to A$26.61 and Macquarie lifted 2.5% to A$117.36.

Shares of consumer goods inclined, lead by A2 Milk, up 8.5% to A$9.80 after the company maintained its prior broad revenue growth guidance, citing it had experienced strong gains in both English and China label infant formula products, and its liquid milk products in the United States. Bellamy's Australia shares rose 12.5% to A$9.18, Blackmores advanced 8.8% to A$127.63 and Treasury Wine Estates was 4% higher at A$16.80.

CURRENCY: Australian Dollar was higher against greenback and other major currencies on Tuesday. The Australian dollar was quoted at $0.7140, up from $0.7122 on Tuesday.

OFFSHORE MARKET NEWS, US stock market closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by strong earnings results in blue chip stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged up 547.87 points or 2.2% to 25,798.42, the Nasdaq soared 214.75 points or 2.9% to 7,645.49 and the S&P 500 jumped 59.13 points or 2.2% to 2,809.92.

European shares closed higher on Tuesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4%. The German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively.

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