Headline indices of the Australia stock market were higher on Tuesday, 03 July 2018, on tracking positive lead from Wall Street overnight and ahead of the Reserve Bank's decision on interest rates. Most of ASX issues were higher, with shares in consumer discretionary, consumer staples, financials, realty, energy and healthcare issues being notable gainers, however, losses in materials kept the benchmark gains in check. Around late afternoon, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 29.71 points or 0.5% to 6,207.50. The broader All Ordinaries Index was up 27.95 points or 0.45% to 6,301.20.
Shares of consumer related issues were gaining the most in the benchmark index. A2 Milk (A2M) gained after extending an agreement with Synlait for the supply of milk used in its infant formula products for two years through to July 2023. The gains spilled over into other milk product makers like Blackmores and Bellamy's Australia, which added as much as 1.3% and 3.4%, respectively. JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Myer were up by at least 1.2%.
Shares in EBOS extended gains for the second day after winning the right to be the exclusive third party distributor of pharmaceutical products to more than 400 Chemist Warehouse/My Chemist stores in Australia for five years from July 2019.
EBO expects to generate around $1bn in sales in the first year.
Shares of financials picked up a little, hour ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting, where the RBA board is likely to hold rates at record lows. The big four banks were all trading in positive territory, with Commonwealth Bank leading the way, rising as much as 1%.
Shares of materials and resources were key drag in the benchmark, after commodity prices took a hit overnight on a firmer US dollar and US-China-European trade tensions. BHP Billiton (BHP), Rio Tinto (RIO) and Fortescue Metals (FMG) were down by as much as 2%.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar lost ground against greenback, falling to the lowest level since January 2017 against the greenback, as global trade tensions manifested into weaker Chinese asset prices. The Australian dollar was trading at 73.39 US cents, down 0.85% from previous day.
OFFSHORE MARKET: U. S. stocks turned higher in the final hour of trading Monday, 02 July 2018, as a rebound in technology shares helped to offset ongoing uncertainty surrounding trade policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%. The S&P 500 ended 0.3% higher. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.8%.
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