ASX edges up, gas futures jump on strike notice

The news: The benchmark ASX 200 gained 0.71% to close at 7,210.5, led by a solid performance in the materials sector. The Australian dollar gained slightly to 64.5 US cents. European natural gas futures jumped more than 10% after unions gave notice to strike at two of Chevron's Australian LNG facilities.

The numbers: By sector, only materials and consumer discretionary stocks rose more than 1%, gaining 1.52% and 1.42% respectively. High-cap gainers included Fortescue (2.67%), Pilbara Minerals (5.54%) and Mineral Resources, which finished 7.96% higher after boosting its final dividend by 90%. Wesfarmers enjoyed its third straight day of gains, lifting about 8% since releasing its results on Friday.

The context: Incoming Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock is due to deliver a speech at Australian National University at 5:40pm AEST today. Brambles and Flight Centre will post results tomorrow, with Harvey Norman, Bank of Queensland and Atlas Arteria to follow on Thursday. Australian CPI data drops at 11:30am AEST tomorrow, along with monthly building approvals. US housing price index, consumer confidence and job openings data are expected around midnight tonight.