By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added 12.7 points or 0.2% to 6,957.9 after the first hour of Monday’s trade, after closing out the month of July with gains of 5.8%.
ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.8% lower.
Among stocks, Materials led the gains, adding 0.7% overall as Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) added 1.5%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) gained 1.7%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) gained 3.8% while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) eased 0.7%.
Information Technology also lifted 0.2% as Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) gained 1.4%, Computershare Ltd. (ASX:CPU) lifted 1.1%, Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) added 0.4% and Technology One Ltd (ASX:TNE) lifted 2.5% while Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) lost 1.4%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) dipped 0.7% and Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) shed 2.9%.
Financials were down 0.6% overall as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) fell 2.1%, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) lost 0.5%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) eased 1.3%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) added 0.1% and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) fell 1.2%.
In the week ahead, investors will be closely monitoring the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision and statement on Tuesday after headline inflation increased less than expected last quarter, boosting bets for a 50 basis point rate hike.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were at 3.107% while United States 10-Year rates were near fresh 3-month lows of 2.665%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.3% to 11,527.5.