PERTH: The Australian market edged higher at the open, following global leads at the end of last week as investor focus shifts to key Chinese data and the potential to break through a resistance level.
At the 10.15am (AEDT) official market open, the benchmark S & P/ASX200 added 10.5 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5278.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 10.1 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 5313.8 points.
CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner said China’s economic data will be the key macro focus for markets today.
“A GDP result in line with expectations would frank the recent stock market rally that has been partly driven by a view that markets have become too pessimistic about China’s economic outlook,” he said.
“However, given the small deviation from expectations, which has been traditional for China’s GDP figure, any small downside miss has potential to worry markets, especially if monthly industrial production or retail sales data are also below expectations.”
Mr Spooner said the local market has met clear resistance at the 5300 level recently, indicating the development of a psychological level.
“A clear break above 5300 based on ongoing relief about China’s economy would be a bullish signal.
“It would indicate to potential buyers that markets are setting up for the traditional year-end rally driven by reasonable growth from China in combination with potential for another delay in the Fed rate hike.”
Consumer staples led the market higher rising 0.94 per cent.
Wesfarmers added 0.37 per cent to $40.62 while Woolworths gained 0.15 per cent to $27.19.
