By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2% during Tuesday’s mid-morning deals, extending gains of 0.3% in the previous session as the telecommunication and technology sectors led gains, while mining heavyweight Rio Tinto retreated after issuing its fourth quarter update.
ASX 200 Futures eased just 0.05%.
Among stocks, Telecommunication names lead the gains, with Telstra Corporation Ltd. (ASX:TLS) up 1.06%, Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK) adding 2.04%, Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX:DHG) up 1.59% and Rea Group Ltd (ASX:REA) adding 1.9%.
Technology companies also gained with Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) lifting 4.17%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) surging 7.68%, Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) rallying 9.12%, Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) up 1.24%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) gaining 1.85% and Technology One Ltd (ASX:TNE) up 0.7%
Energy producers were mixed as crude oil prices rose amid tightening supply and easing Omicron concerns. Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) eased 0.28%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) fell 0.21% while Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) added 0.34%.
Major miners were also mixed, with BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) up 0.87% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG)adding 0.72%. Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) was down 0.28% after its quarterly update, noting that iron ore production dropped last year due to labour shortages, cultural heritage management, above-average rainfall, and delays in new projects. The company also flagged further potential disruptions caused by COVID-19, worker shortages, and supply chain delays.
Gold miners were mostly higher with Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM) up 0.41%, Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) adding 0.99%, Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU) up 1.33% and Chalice Gold Mines Ltd (ASX:CHN) adding 0.48%.
Meantime, JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:JBH) surged 7.14% after unaudited half-year profits dropped 9.4%, while company officials noted strong sales momentum during the half amid continuing demand for consumer electronics.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields eased from 8-week highs to 1.889% while United States 10-Year rates were at fresh 2-year highs of 1.807%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was down 0.18% to 12,784.