Dec 4 (Reuters) – Australian shares inched higher on Thursday, driven by heavily weighted miners on the back of strong copper prices, although gains were capped by losses in consumer discretionary and real estate stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 index marginally rose 0.1% to 8,602.80 by 2320 GMT. The main index closed 0.2% higher on Wednesday.
Miners advanced 0.8% to touch a record high, taking their year-to-date gains to 33.3%.
Copper prices hit an all-time high overnight, propelled by a weaker U.S. dollar and supply woes. Prices also got a boost after Glencore cut its copper production goal for the next year.
Sector leaders BHP and Rio Tinto surged 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively. BHP hit a one-month high, while Rio scored an all-time peak.
Energy stocks rose 0.7%, in tandem with higher oil prices. Index leaders Woodside Energy and Santos gained 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
Technology stocks tracked their Wall Street peers higher and were last up 1.4%. Logistics software maker WiseTech Global rose 1.8%.
Data released on Wednesday showed that real gross domestic product in the third quarter climbed by 2.1% from the same period a year earlier, the fastest since mid-2023, fuelled by business, government and consumer spending.
Inflation measures in the report also remained high just as the central bank chief warned the economy could be already at its potential growth limit, as markets wagered the next move in interest rates could be up, rather than down.
Rate-sensitive real estate and consumer discretionary stocks declined 1.2% and 0.5%, respectively.
Property giant Goodman Group slipped 2.2%, while electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi retreated 1.5%.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index edged 0.2% lower to 13,553.05. (Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
