(RTTNews) - After opening higher on positive overnight cues from Wall Street and moving up further subsequently on Tuesday, the Australian stock market has given up gains due to lack of support at higher levels. With the Reserve Bank of Australia slated to take a call on interest rates later in the day, the mood has turned quite cautious after a firm start.

Information technology and utilities stocks are trading notably higher, while energy, materials, financials and consumer discretionary stocks are seen coming off their highs due to profit taking.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 4,579.2 in early trades, drifted down to 4,547.8 and is currently up 1.6 points at 4,542. The broader All Ordinaries index, which surged to 4,584.3, is up 3.7 points at 4,550.

On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 index had ended down 102.8 points, or 2.2%, at 4,540.4 while the All Ordinaries index declined 100.6 points, or 2.2%, to 4,546.3.

After trading notably higher earlier, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation have pared most of their gains and are currently trading just modestly higher. National Australia Bank is down in negative territory with a modest loss. Diversified financials stock Macquarie Group is up slightly over Monday’s closing price.

Top miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are up 1.1% and 0.3% respectively. Newcrest Mining is trading up 4.2% on strong buying support. Orica, Lihir Gold, Fortescue Metals and Bluescop Steel are also trading higher.

Among top energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy are trading weak, while Oil Search and Santos are up in positive territory with modest gains.

In economic news on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia holds its monthly board meeting. Its decision on interest rates is due to be announced at 2.30 p.m. local time.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened lower against the U.S. dollar. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9022-US$0.9023, down from Monday’s close of US$0.9045-US$0.9050.

Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore is up with a modest gain, while New Zealand and Korea are trading weak. The Japanese stock market is closed for a national holiday. Stock markets across the region had closed lower on Monday, tracking negative cues from Wall Street.

On Wall Street, stocks posted solid gains on Monday amid a slew of economic reports and some Fed comments on the financial sector. While data on manufacturing activity in the month of October and the surge of the pending home sales index lifted sentiment after the previous session’s setback, concerns voiced by Federal Reserve’s associate director about the state of the financial system capped gains to an extent.

The Dow closed up 76.7 points at 9,789.4, the Nasdaq edged up 4.1 points to 2,049.2 and the S&P 500 closed up 6.7 points at 1,042.9.

Major European markets closed on the upside on Monday. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 index moved up 1.2% and 0.9% respectively, while the German DAX index gained 0.3%.

Crude oil finished higher on Monday after a choppy ride with some encouraging manufacturing data offsetting a decline in U.S. equities. Light sweet crude for December delivery closed at US$78.13 per barrel, up 13 cents on the session.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Eurozone, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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