Australia Shares Extend Gains for Sixth Straight Day

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--Australia's stock market advanced for the sixth straight session to close Tuesday at the highest level since June 1, as banks helped drive broad gains.

Still, mining stocks took another hit after commodity prices fell in the wake of a stronger U.S. dollar and expectations the Federal Reserve is preparing to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

The S&P/ASX 200 ended up 0.4% at 5706.70.

The Australian dollar was relatively steady, trading in a narrow range above six-year lows ahead of second-quarter inflation data and a speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens due Wednesday.

Bank shares continued a weeklong recovery, with National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU) rising 1%, Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC.AU) gaining 0.9% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ.AU) adding 0.6%. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AU) slipped 0.3%.

The industry regulator on Monday issued guidelines for the largest lenders to raise the amount of capital they hold against the estimated risk in the mortgage books, a response to recommendations made in a broad government-backed review of the financial industry released late last year. Several analysts said the banks should be able to raise the capital by retaining earnings or through dividend reinvestment plans, and over time would likely offset the burden by cutting discounts or raising the cost of loans.

Among energy shares, Oil Search Ltd. (OSH.AU) rose 3.9% after it lifted its production guidance for the year, having posted an output of 7.41 million barrels of oil equivalent in the second quarter. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU) was flat and Santos Ltd. (STO.AU) lost 0.9% as oil prices remained under pressure in Asia trade Tuesday.

Gold and silver prices continued to trade close to their lowest level in five years, with gold dipping below the psychological mark of $1,100 an ounce in early Asia hours.

Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM.AU), which sank 10% on Monday, fell another 1.5% Tuesday. Smaller gold producers were also weaker, with Evolution Mining Ltd. (EVN.AU) down 2.6%, Medusa Mining Ltd. (MML.AU) down 3.4% and Perseus Mining Ltd. (PRU.AU) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd. (SAR.AU) off 4.1% and 5.1%, respectively.

Elsewhere in the mining sector, BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) fell 0.6% and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU) lost 0.9%.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]