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Oct 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares advanced on Tuesday on signs that Washington and Beijing had made some headway in resolving a protracted trade row, while miners also benefited from a strong tailwind of higher commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO tacked on 0.3%, or 19.70 points, to 6,672.20, having ended flat the previous day.
Sentiment improved as China's Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Tuesday said the two countries have achieved some progress in their trade talks, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump made equally positive comments on the prospects for ending the dispute. mining subindex .AXMM rose 1% with BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX , the largest miners on the benchmark, adding about 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively.
The uptick was underpinned as supply concerns bolstered prices of iron ore and copper. IRONORE/ MET/L
Financial stocks .AXFJ got a lift from National Australia Bank NAB.AX adding 0.5% and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.AX pulling 0.4% ahead.
Wealth manager AMP Ltd AMP.AX jumped 2.3% and closed at a 3-week high after its funds management arm announced a $6.2 billion fund raising. stocks .AXEJ gained after two sessions of declines as oil prices steadied. Beach Energy BPT.AX added 1.7%, while Viva Energy Group VEA.AX rallied 4.6%. O/R
Elsewhere the business outlook and earnings swayed some of the trading. Among them was Oil Search OSH.AX , which declined 1% after it cuts its 2019 production outlook. aid maker Cochlear Ltd COH.AX tumbled 5.5% as the company flagged a lower earnings per share target at its annual general meeting. Retail Group SUL.AX plunged 8.6% and was the worst performer on the ASX benchmark after the company flagged lower margins from increased promotional activities. financial services provider McMillan Shakespeare MMS.AX fell 4.3% as it signalled challenging market conditions. Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.3% to 11,090.39.
Fonterra FSF.NZ FCG.NZ advanced 1.3%, after the dairy giant increased the 2019-2020 guidance range for the price it pays farmers to procure milk.