Australia shares are up; banks offset mining and energy stock losses

Investors took their cues from Wall Street's performance and boosted Australian shares for the fourth consecutive day. Gains in banks offset losses in energy and mining stocks.

By 2338 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had risen 0.4% to 8,289.1 point. The benchmark closed Monday 0.1% higher.

S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones rose on Monday due to a rally of semiconductor stocks. A report also suggested that the Trump administration would be less aggressive in its tariff policy.

Locally, traders will also be watching for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) November data that is due on Wednesday. According to a survey of economists, the figure is expected rise to 2.2% from a 2.1% increase in October.

The financial sector was up 0.6% for the fourth consecutive session. Three of the four "big" banks saw their shares rise between 0.3% to 0.5%.

The third consecutive day, miners fell by 0.2%.

The price of iron ore was impacted by the slower production of hot metals in China, and weakness in equity markets in China's top consumers.

BHP was flat, while Rio Tinto dropped 0.2%.

Gold stocks fell 0.6% on the back of higher U.S. Treasury yields.

Northern Star Resources fell 0.6%, while Evolution Mining dropped 0.7%.

The energy stocks also fell 0.3% in line with the drop in oil prices. The sub-index looks set to end a winning streak of nine days.

Woodside Energy fell 0.3%, while Santos remained flat.

In company news, Syrah Resource shares rose 2.3% to A$0.22 following a loan cancellation in the midst of unrest in Mozambique.

The benchmark S&P/NZX50 index for New Zealand fell by 0.1%, to 13,060.63 point.

(source: Reuters)