Australian shares inch higher on mining boost; set for best month since Nov 2020

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose slightly on Tuesday, set for their best month in more than two years, as investors globally awaited a slew of central bank policy decisions, including from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.2% to 7,498.6 by 23:45 GMT, with gains in miners outweighing losses in technology and energy stocks. The benchmark index has risen more than 6.6% so far this month and is on track for its biggest monthly gain since November 2020. Global stocks retreated overnight ahead of central bank policy announcements and data that may shed light on whether progress has been made in bringing down inflation. In Australia, retailers Woolowrths and Coles led the gains, rising 1.9% and 2.2% respectively. Meanwhile, Australian retail sales recorded the biggest drop in more than two years in December, as rising prices and higher interest rates finally had an impact on spending, a surprisingly soft result that suggests tighter policy is working as intended.

Miners added 0.3%, with iron ore giants BHP Group , Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals all trading in positive territory. Healthcare stocks rose 1%. Resmed's Australian shares jumped about 3%, while CSL was up 1.1%. Energy stocks fell 0.4% on weak crude oil prices. Sector majors Woodside and Santos slipped 0.6% each. Among individual stocks, Origin Energy was down 0.8% even after the company reported a jump in second-quarter revenue from its stake in the Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project. Software services provider Megaport was the top loser on the benchmark index, declining more than 20% on weak trading update. Bubs Australia plunged 12.7% and was staring at its worst session since Nov. 28, after the dairy producer posted a 28% drop in second-quarter revenue, hurt by weak performance in China.

Lithium miners Pilbara Minerals and Mineral Resources were down over 3% each. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.2% to 12,008.3.
($1 = 1.4172 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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Australian shares inch higher on mining boost; set for best month since Nov 2020

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