By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 closed 75.90 points or 1.07% to 7,186.70 during Tuesday’s session, erasing losses of 0.15% yesterday as higher iron ore prices boosted materials, while financials were buoyed by rising long term bond yields.
The Materials sector showed the largest improvement, adding 2.2% as Iron ore futures topped $US150 a tonne in Singapore. Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) gained 2.17%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) added 3.71%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) lifted 3.25%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) gained 3.56%, Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) lifted 5.92, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) gained 0.44% and OZ Minerals Ltd (ASX:OZL) added 1.36%.
Travel-related companies extended yesterday’s gains, as Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) lifted 1.1%, Flight Centre Ltd (ASX:FLT) added 6.71%, Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB) gained 7.44%, Helloworld Ltd (ASX:HLO) added 3.52% and Corporate Travel Managment Ltd (ASX:CTD) added 4.27%.
Financials also improved 1.55% collectively, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) added 0.32%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) added 1.47%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) lifted 0.58% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) gained 1.35%.
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) also lifted 3.89% after the investment giant reported another record-breaking quarter, however Chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake warned against extending into market upswings, urging the need to maintain a conservative stance.
Technology companies remained under pressure, Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) fell 6.21%, Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) dropped 2.33%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) fell 7.41%, Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX:LNK) dipped 0.37%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) lost 0.6% and Computershare Ltd. (ASX:CPU) dipped 2.4%, while Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) added 1.53% and Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) gained 0.17%.
Among currencies, The Aussie was down 0.22% to 0.71101 while the US Dollar Index was slightly higher at 95.611.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates rose to near 3-year highs of 2.11%, while United States 10-Year yields were at 26-month highs of 1.949%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was 0.32% higher at 12,319.