By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added 9.20 points or 0.13% to 7,029.80 during Tuesday’s session, extending gains for the third consecutive session amid several earnings reports from local companies as well as business and consumer sentiment data.
Among stocks, Telecommunication Services led the gains, up 1.8% overall as Telstra Corporation Ltd. (ASX:TLS) added 0.8%, Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK) gained 3.2%, while Rea Group Ltd (ASX:REA) lifted 6.7% after reporting results.
Information Technology added 1.7%, with Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) leading the gains after reporting results. Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) dipped 2.2%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) gained 0.6%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) fell 1.3%, Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) gained 3.1% and Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) added 3.1%.
Consumer Discretionary gained 1.4% with Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) up 0.8%, JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:JBH) up 1.1%, Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX:TAH) lifting 0.5%, Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX:ALL) up 1.4% and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX:WES) gaining 1.8%.
On the data front, The NAB business confidence index came in at 7 points for July, lifting from 2 points in the previous month, with sentiment rising significantly in construction, retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and mining despite ongoing headwinds from inflation, higher interest rates and a deteriorating global economic outlook.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 3.211% while United States 10-Year yields were at 2.763%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.4% to 11,753.5.