Stocks in Australian hit record high

The Australian share market has continued its upward trend, closing at a two-month high on Monday. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished up by 0.27% to 7,381.5, marking its 10th gain in 12 sessions, while the All Ordinaries was up 0.23% to 7,678.1. The property sector was the highest gainer, rising by 1.5%, followed by lithium miners, with Sayona climbing 10.3% and Lake Resources soaring 18.5%.

The optimism over China’s recovery and declining fears of a global banking crisis have supported the market. There are expectations that China’s economy will continue to gain momentum, and more domestic economic indicators are due this week that could confirm that the Reserve Bank of Australia “can take their foot off the gas with rate hikes”.

The mining sector was slightly higher, with BHP adding 0.3% after the Federal Court approved its $9.6 billion takeover of OZ Minerals. Fortescue Metals gained 0.4%, Rio Tinto climbed 0.3%, and South32 advanced 0.5%. However, goldminers Northern Star, Newcrest and Evolution were all down a little over 2%, while Regis Resources slumped 11.2% after announcing lower-than-expected production in the March quarter.

The big banks were mostly up, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia adding 0.6%, National Australia Bank climbing 0.7%, and ANZ advancing 1.0%. EML Payments finished up 13.9% after announcing new leadership and a strategic review.

The Australian dollar was buying 67.12 US cents, down from 67.76 US cents at Friday’s ASX close. One Australian dollar buys 89.88 Japanese yen, 61.04 Euro cents, 51.04 British pence, and 108.15 NZ cents.