The Australian share market has opened fractionally higher, boosted by the big miners.
IG Markets market strategist Evan Lucas said the big miners – BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals – were forging ahead on the back of stronger iron ore prices and good production numbers.
“Even with a fairly soft lead (from overseas markets) overnight, it has been a fairly good start for those players,” Mr Lucas said.
Mr Lucas said the rise in the iron ore price may be due to encouraging economic data out of China.
However, overall, investors appeared to be mostly in a wait-and-see mode as Australia’s federal election campaign continued.
In the resources sector at 1024 AEST, BHP Billiton was up nine cents at $36.90, Rio Tinto had added 44 cents to $62.27, and Fortescue had lifted three cents to $4.34.
But among the major banks, ANZ had dipped eight cents to $29.46 and Westpac had eased three cents to $31.05, while National Australia Bank had picked up 16 cents at $30.85.
Commonwealth Bank had gained 32 cents to $74.14 on expectations of good earnings figures and higher dividends when the company reports on Wednesday.
Property developer Stockland had retreated 6.5 cents to $3.745 after it said its net profit had fallen almost 80 per cent due in part to weakness in the housing market and a major writedown.
KEY FACTS
* At 1029 AEST on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up four points, or 0.08 per cent, at 5,112.7 points.
* The the broader All Ordinaries index was up 3.9 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 5,098.0 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was seven points higher at 5,067 points, with 7,526 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 314.2 million securities worth $465.9 million.
