Banks, miners lift Aussie shares; Rio Tinto slips after Arcadium bid
Updates to close
Australia-listed shares of Arcadium Lithium at 4-month high
RBNZ expected to cut interest rates by 50 bps
More Chinese stimulus anticipated on Tuesday
By Sneha Kumar
Oct 7 (Reuters) -Australian shares ended higher on Monday as gains in heavyweight banking stocks outpaced a decline in top miner Rio Tinto's RIO.AX shares after it confirmed it was in talks to buy Arcadium Lithium ALTM.N.
The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index .AXJO closed 0.7% higher at 8,205.4 points. The benchmark fell 0.8% last week.
Financial stocks .AXFJ rose 1.5%, with the "Big Four" banks advancing between 1.2% and 2.1%.
"Global funds are buying banks and miners to keep the market higher," said Mathan Somasundaram, CEO of DeepData Analytics.
Banks are much more liquid and have a bigger weightage compared to other sectors, and therefore, global funds are buying them, which is lifting the market, Somasundaram said.
Miners .AXMM added 0.6%, with bellwethers BHP Group BHP.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX gaining 0.6% and 3%, respectively.
Mining stocks have risen for seven out of the last 10 sessions as investors continue to buy into the sector on the back of China's bazooka stimulus.
China, Australia's largest trading partner, is widely expected to deliver more stimulus at its official briefing on economic policy implementation on Tuesday, which is likely to boost the domestic resources-heavy bourse.
The Australia-listed shares of Arcadium Lithium LTM.AX topped the benchmark, rising 45.7% to end at a four-month high.
The company confirmed that Rio Tinto RIO.AX had offered to buy it, potentially valuing it at $4 billion to $6 billion or higher, according to sources.
Rio Tinto, however, lost 2% following its bid.
Tech stocks .AXIJ closed 1.6% higher, tracking their U.S. peers.
Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 0.2%, while gold stocks .AXGD retreated 1.1% on easing prices for the yellow metal. GOL/
The Reserve Bank of Australia will release the minutes of its September policy meeting on Tuesday, which will provide further clarity on when it's expected to cut rates.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.2% to 12,596.87 points. The country's central bank is expected to cut its interest rates by a half-point in its policy meeting on Wednesday, according to a Reuters poll.
Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema
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