Australian shares rallied on Tuesday with broad gains in banks and materials stocks offsetting a rout in the listed lithium sector. Airlines rallied despite NSW reporting aThe SP/ASX 200 Index gained 0.9 per cent, or by 62.8 points, to 7355 points. The All Ordinaries advanced 0.9 per cent to 7666.7.
The lithium sector, which makes critical ingredients for use in electric vehicles and specifically for rechargeable batteries, suffered broadly on the ASX. Commonwealth Bank rose 0.4 per cent to $99.59, ANZ Banking Group edged up 0.3 per cent to $27.32, National Australia Bank firmed 0.7 per cent to $28.72 and Westpac inched 0.2 per cent higher to $21.05.after it announced the acquisition of Melbourne-based ready-meal business Chefgood for an initial $21 million.Earn-out clauses could add another $5.6 million to the deal’s costs over the next 2 ½ years.
Australian Clinical Labs surged 12.2 per cent to $5.60; it raised its first-half financial 2022 net profit guidance to between $116.3 million and $128 million on revenue between $497.3 million and $517.2 million. This compares to IPO prospectus guidance for first-half revenue of between $437.5 million and $454.9 million.