Australian shares inched higher in early trade on Tuesday, as miners advanced on strong metal prices and technology stocks followed their Wall Street peers higher.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.1% to 7,466.20 by 2331 GMT, hitting its highest since April 22 last year and extending gains to a fifth session. The benchmark had closed 0.1% higher on Monday.
S&P E-minis futures were down 0.1%, while Nikkei futures rose 0.2%.
Miners were among the top performers in Australia with a 0.9% gain, as copper prices rose on improving demand prospects in top consumer China.
Sector behemoths BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals climbed between 0.1% and 0.8%. Mineral Resources hit a record high after UBS upgraded the lithium producer to “buy” from “neutral”.
Meanwhile, Coronado Global Resources retreated 1.4% and was the top loser on the local bourse after the company reported weak sales volume for the December quarter.
Technology stocks rose 1.4% to hit a more than one-month high, with ASX-listed Block, software maker Xero and WiseTech Global up between 1.9% and 7.1%. Zip Co jumped 6.6% after the buy-now-pay-later firm reported a record second-quarter revenue.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 2% higher overnight after Friday’s 2.7% jump.
Firm crude prices helped energy stocks rise 0.2%, with Karoon Energy and Paladin Energy up 0.7% and 1%, respectively.
On the downside, financials shed 0.4%. The country’s four largest lenders fell between 0.1% and 0.9%.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3% to 11,981.71.
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