By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks started the week higher Monday, with financials advancing ahead of a central bank policy decision this week, helped in part by a positive finish Friday on Wall Street. In early trading, the S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO 4,625, +46.06, +1.01%) gained 0.6% to 4,604.8. Shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AU:CBA 51.54, +0.64, +1.26%) (CBAUF 50.55, +0.55, +1.10%) added 0.6%, Suncorp-Metway Ltd. (AU:SUN 8.90, +0.13, +1.48%) (SNMYY 9.10, +1.55, +20.53%) rose 1.4%, QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (AU:QBE 17.26, +0.14, +0.82%) (QBEIF 16.85, +0.22, +1.32%) climbed 0.8%, and AMP Ltd. (AU:AMP 5.28, +0.16, +3.13%) (AMLTF 5.05, +0.64, +14.51%) was ahead by 2%. The moves came ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision due out Tuesday, with analysts divided over whether the central bank will again hike interest rates. Other Australian blue chips on the rise included BlueScope Steel Ltd. (AU:BSL 2.20, +0.02, +0.92%) (BLSFF 2.18, -0.12, -5.22%) , up 1.4%; and airline Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. (AU:VBA 0.44, +0.01, +1.15%) (VBHLF 0.44, -0.01, -1.14%) , 1.2% higher. |
