Australia Stocks advance on hopes for China-U.S. talks

The Australian share market closed higher for second day in a row on Monday, 25 November 2019, as the market mood was lifted by increased optimism for the prospect that the United States and China will reach an agreement to de-escalate their trade war after positive trade dialogue between major economies. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index added 21.63 points, or 0.32%, to 6,731.41, while the broader All Ordinaries grew 19.07 points, or 0.28%, to 6,835.57.

Local shares were experiencing gains on the back of latest wave of optimism after US President Donald Trump said on Friday a trade deal with China is "potentially very close." Chinese President Xi Jinping also reiterated his desire on Friday for a preliminary trade deal. U.S. national security adviser Robert O'Brien has said so over the weekend. More importantly, China announced that it is willing to impose stricter penalties on intellectual property (IP) violations. IP has been one of the issues in which the two countries had difficulty seeing eye-to-eye on. Therefore, this move by China was widely welcomed by market participants as it is a step towards finalizing a phase one deal. That confidence was reinforced on Monday after reports that both countries were "very close" to a phase one trade deal and that China was willing to negotiate for a phase two or even a phase three trade deal.

The materials sector was the best performer thanks to strong gains in iron ore producers. The iron ore spot price (for 62% fines) was up 23% over the past three days. Rio Tinto closed 2% higher at A$95.92, BHP Group gained 1.7% to A$37.85, and Fortescue Metals Group climbed 1.8% to A$9.67. However, Nufarm, which dropped 17.5% to A$5.08 after a profit warning for its first half.

Shares of telecommunications also closed higher, with Telstra up 2% to A$3.63 ahead of its annual investor day on Wednesday.

Shares of healthcare advanced after the federal government announced a A$537 million aged care support package. Sonic Healthcare reached a record-high closing price of A$29.85, CSL closed 1.4% higher at A$273.41, and Ramsay Health closed 1.1% higher at A$73.26.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in broader risk appetite, eased against greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6793 after declining from highs above $0.682 in the previous trading week.

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