Ampol, Australia's top stock loser, reaches record highs on the benchmark

The Australian share market reached a new record on Tuesday. This was due to the broad gains made by heavyweight miners as iron ore prices rose. However, Ampol, Australia's largest fuel retailer, suffered the biggest losses after a lower production figure.

S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6% by 2329 GMT to 8,305.5 after reaching a record-high of 8,307.2. The benchmark index rose 0.5% Monday.

Ampol, which is the biggest loser in the benchmark index, has fallen as much as 5 percent to its lowest level in mid-January 2023. This was after it recorded a 42 percent drop in its third-quarter production from its Lytton refining plant in Queensland.

Iron ore prices surged on renewed expectations of fiscal stimulus from China, the top consumer.

BHP Group, Fortescue, and Rio Tinto, all mining giants, rose by 0.9% to 1.3%.

Financials gained 0.8% and reached a three-week high. The "Big Four" banks added between 0.7% to 1.2%.

Following Wall Street's lead, tech stocks gained 0.5%. Xero rose 0.3% while WiseTech Global gained 0.5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the United States rose 201.36, or 0.47% overnight, to 43,065.22 on Monday. The S&P500 gained 44.82, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq gained 159.5 points, or 0.8%.

Energy stocks were the only losers in the index. They lost 0.3%, as oil prices fell due to a weak outlook for global demand.

Woodside, the sector's largest company, fell by 1.2% and Santos, its smaller rival, dropped by 1.3%.

Rio Tinto and Woodside are expected to report their quarterly results this week on Wednesday, while BHP and Santos will announce their results on Thursday.

The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index for New Zealand fell 0.1% to 12,751.93 index points.

According to a survey, the country's quarterly rate of inflation is due to be released on Wednesday. It is expected to drop to 2.2% compared to last year.

(source: Reuters)