ASX inches higher as China acts to prop up market

The news: The benchmark ASX/200 index gained 0.63% to 7,159.80 on Monday as China eased taxes on stock trading and US central bankers at the weekend's Jackson Hole symposium were less hawkish on interest rates than expected. The Aussie dollar lifted by about half a per cent and was fetching 0.643 US cents shortly after 4pm AEST.

The numbers: Most sectors finished in the green, except IT stocks, which lost 0.74% as NextDC and Megaport gave up roughly 2.75% each. Health Care lifted 1.45% with CSL, Sonic Healthcare, Cochlear and Ramsay Healthcare all finishing in the green. Consumer discretionary shares gained 1.36% as Wesfarmers, Aristocrat Leisure and JB Hi-fi all gained more than 1.48%.

The context: Asian stock markets rallied today on the back of China's move to halve stamp duty on stock trades. On Friday, China's government also approved cabinet guidelines to boost investment in the country's ailing property market. Buy-now, pay-later company Zip Co and cement manufacturer Adbri will post results tomorrow, with Bank of Queensland, Harvey Norman, Brambles and Flight Centre to follow later in the week.