Australia Market gains on trade hopes

The Australian share market closed higher on Monday, 11 November 2019, defying the general downward trend in the region, amid increasing optimism over the US-China trade talks after U.S. President Donald Trump said over the weekend that trade talks with China were moving along "very nicely", though uncertainty remained over whether a deal would be signed this year. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index advanced 48.42 points, or 0.72%, to 6,772.52, while the broader All Ordinaries added 43.82 points, or 0.64%, to 6,877.02.

Market sentiment bolstered as optimism had returned after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that trade talks with China were moving along "very nicely," but the United States would only make a deal with Beijing if it was the right deal for America. Trump told that the talks had moved more slowly than he would have liked, but China wanted a deal more than he did. That was a more upbeat tone than just a few days earlier when Trump stressed that the White House would not agree to a full rollback of existing tariffs.

U.S. officials said a lot of work remained to be done when Trump announced the outlines of an interim deal last month, and Beijing has since pushed back on U.S. demands for big agricultural purchases, among other issues.

Index heavyweight CSL Group's advanced to a record high, following a broker upgrade. Brokerage UBS upgraded drugmaker CSL to buy' from 'neutral' and raised its price target to $295 from $265, citing improving margins.

Woodside Petroleum firmed 1.5%, after the company entered a contractual agreement with DDG Operations Pty to construct, operate and maintain a pipeline.

Fintech firm Afterpay Touch shares rose about 5% after Citi upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'neutral'.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's fell 3%, as the stock traded ex-dividend.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in broader risk appetite, was down against greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6856, declining from around $0.6900 from the previous week.

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