ASX closes higher as lithium miners gain
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The news: The Australian sharemarket has closed higher, with lithium miners leading gains.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 finished up 0.35% to 7,664.1, with eight out of 11 sectors finishing in green.
The best performing sector was consumer discretionary, up 0.79%, followed by AREITs (0.79%) and healthcare (0.45%). Wesfarmers led gains within consumer discretionary, gaining 1.48%.
Two of the top five performers across the ASX 200 today were lithium miners — Arcadium Lithium (9.36%) and IGO (6.38%), with Liontown also gaining 2.27%. IGO shares jumped in early trading despite posting weak quarterly earnings. Analysts said the positives of the result was the sale of its spodumene concentrate to Tianqi LIthium Corporation and maintaining its full-year guidance for Greenbushes.
The worst performing sector was industrials, down 0.53%, followed by utilities (-0.12%) and IT (-0.05%). Worley fell 7.17% after its major shareholder Sidara sold a 19% stake in an underwritten block trade. It was the worst performer across the ASX 200.
Ampol finished 3.34% lower after it reported a fall in refiner margins and sales volumes for the March quarter.
Meanwhile, Coles dropped 0.37% after lifting its third quarter revenue on the back of a rise in supermarket sales despite a fall in liquor sales.
The Australian dollar is lower, buying 65.14 US cents.
The context: Tonight will see the US Bureau of Labor Statistics release the latest employment cost index figures ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy decision on Thursday.
Wednesday will see the Australian Bureau of Statistics release the latest selected living costs index figures while Amazon will post its quarterly earnings.
