Australian shares gain as consumers' mood lifts
At noon on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 36.7 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 8,607.1, while the broader All Ordinaries had gained 36.9 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 8,852.2.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment survey, based on a poll of 1,200 Australian adults conducted last week, showed a lift for a third straight month.
"While the mood improved a touch for the month as a whole, responses over the survey week show a clear disappointment following the RBA's surprise move to leave rates on hold at its July meeting," said Westpac's head of Australian macro forecasting, Matthew Hassan.
AMP economist My Bui said that compared to the longer-term trend, Australian consumer confidence remained soft and way below its long run average.
In China, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the world's second-biggest economy grew at 5.2 per cent in the June quarter, slightly better than consensus estimates of 5.1 per cent growth.
Ten of the ASX's 11 sectors were in the green at midday, with materials flat.
Tech was the biggest mover, rising 2.1 per cent.
Life360 had gained 9.0 per cent to an all-time high of $35.55, Appen had climbed 5.6 per cent to $1.135 and Weebit Nano had advanced 6.4 per cent.
Eftpos providers Tyro Payments and Smartpay Holdings were down 5.2 and 1.9 per cent, respectively, after the Reserve Bank proposed banning surcharging on debit and credit cards.
Hub24 had advanced 5.5 per cent to an all-time high of $99.71 after the wealth management platform announced strong growth in the fourth quarter, with funds under administration climbing $5.3 billion.
The big four banks were all at least slightly in the green, with CBA up 0.3 per cent, ANZ up 0.4 per cent and NAB and Westpac posting very marginal gains.
In the heavyweight financial sector, BHP was down 0.7 per cent, Fortescue had dropped 1.0 per cent and Rio Tinto had fallen 0.9 per cent.
The Australian dollar was buying 65.55 US cents, from 65.59 US cents at the close of business on Monday.
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