SYDNEY: Australian shares rose for the eighth consecutive session on Tuesday, helped by banks and consumer staples although resources stocks continued to decline.
By 0042 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.5 percent, or 27.15 points to 5,234.80, its highest level since Dec. 3. The benchmark rose 1.3 percent in a shortened Christmas Eve session on Thursday before a 4-day long weekend.
This is the benchmark’s longest winning streak since late January and most analysts expect the market to continue the positive trend into 2016. The index is also set for its best quarterly performance since the Jan-March period.
Despite recent gains, the benchmark is still down more than 3 percent for the year, heading for its first annual loss since 2011. But it is expected to rebound in 2016 to 5,625 points, a Reuters poll found.
Both Australia and New Zealand defied a negative lead from Wall Street, which fell on Monday, pushing the S&P500 back into negative territory for 2015.
New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index added 0.2 percent or 12 points to 6,237.72, hitting another record high as the final trading week of the year kicks off. It looked set for a gain of around 12 percent for the year.
The “big four” Australian banks led gains on Tuesday, with ANZ Banking Group and National Australia Bank rising more than 1 percent each. Top investment bank Macquarie climbed 1.5 percent. Consumer staples were also big hitters with Wesfarmers , which runs the Coles supermarkets, up 2.3 percent and rival Woolworths up 1.7 percent.
Resources and energy shares continued to disappoint with both Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton slipping 2.24 and 2.67 percent respectively. Beach Energy and Origin Energy lost 6.6 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Transurban and Sydney Airport were off 1.2 and 2.2 percent respectively, trading ex-dividend.
Across the Tasman Sea, the biggest gainers were A2 Milk , up 5.6 percent as investors continued to show keen interest in the company after its recent upbeat guidance. The biggest losers included Meridian Energy, down 1.7 percent. Trading is likely to remain fairly tepid, however, given a dearth of local drivers and a holiday-shortened week.
