SYDNEY: The Australian stocks pushed slightly higher at the open, despite a downbeat Wall Street lead, as investors continued to await a catalyst to drive the local bourse through the 6,000 points mark.
At the 10.15am (AEDT) official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 16.9 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 5,986 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index added 15.7 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 5,950.2 points.
In earlier trade, the benchmark index touched as high as 5,986.5 points.
CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner said the local market would begin the session contemplating the “good-news-is-bad-news” theme as far as the US economy is concerned.
“A reasonable CPI read and very strong housing sales in the US during February have the market thinking about US interest rate increases,” he said. “This led to a decline in US STOCK MARKETS.”
Mr Spooner said, as has been the case in recent weeks, whether or not investors buy yield stocks like the big four banks will likely hold the key to how the local session pans out.
