The share market is slightly higher as investors snap up bargains after four consecutive days of falls.
“It’s probably as expected, which is to finally see a little bit of support considering the sell-off that we’ve seen,” IG market strategist Evan Lucas said.
“There’s some contrarians out there looking to pick up the dips.”
But trading volumes were very mild, and there was little news to really drive the market, he said.
Most of the banks were higher, with the exception of National Australia Bank.
Mr Lucas said investors were considering whether the upcoming independence vote in Scotland would hurt NAB, given its exposure to Scotland’s Clydesdale Bank.
NAB was down 4.5 cents at $34.615, ANZ had firmed 12 cents to $33.40, Commonwealth Bank had added 23 cents to $81.49 and Westpac was three cents higher at $34.61.
The big miners were also in positive territory after experiencing significant falls over recent days, as the iron ore price dropped.
There was no shift in iron ore prices overnight due to a holiday in China, Mr Lucas said.
BHP Billiton was up 12 cents at $35.78 and Rio Tinto was up 13 cents at $61.15, while Fortescue Metals had dipped 1.5 cents to $3.985.
Telstra was up 2.5 cents at $5.675.
KEY FACTS
* At 1204 AEST on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 11.4 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,588.4 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 10.6 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 5,589.5 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was up five points at 5,586 points, with 8,501 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 772 million securities worth $1.1 billion.
