(Reuters) - Australian shares advanced on Tuesday on signs that Washington and Beijing had made some headway in resolving a protracted trade row, while miners also benefited from a strong tailwind of higher commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> tacked on 0.3%, or 19.70 points, to 6,672.20, having ended flat the previous day.
Sentiment improved as China's Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Tuesday said the two countries have achieved some progress in their trade talks, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump made equally positive comments on the prospects for ending the dispute.[nL3N2770C9]
The mining subindex <.AXMM> rose 1% with BHP Group <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto <RIO.AX>, the largest miners on the benchmark, adding about 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively.
The uptick was underpinned as supply concerns bolstered prices of iron ore and copper.[IRONORE/][MET/L]
Financial stocks <.AXFJ> got a lift from National Australia Bank <NAB.AX> adding 0.5% and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> pulling 0.4% ahead.
Wealth manager AMP Ltd <AMP.AX> jumped 2.3% and closed at a 3-week high after its funds management arm announced a $6.2 billion fund raising.
Energy stocks <.AXEJ> gained after two sessions of declines as oil prices steadied. Beach Energy <BPT.AX> added 1.7%, while Viva Energy Group <VEA.AX> rallied 4.6%. [O/R]
Elsewhere the business outlook and earnings swayed some of the trading. Among them was Oil Search <OSH.AX>, which declined 1% after it cuts its 2019 production outlook.
Hearing aid maker Cochlear Ltd <COH.AX> tumbled 5.5% as the company flagged a lower earnings per share target at its annual general meeting.
Super Retail Group <SUL.AX> plunged 8.6% and was the worst performer on the ASX benchmark after the company flagged lower margins from increased promotional activities.
Retail financial services provider McMillan Shakespeare <MMS.AX> fell 4.3% as it signalled challenging market conditions.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 0.3% to 11,090.39.
Fonterra <FSF.NZ> <FCG.NZ> advanced 1.3%, after the dairy giant increased the 2019-2020 guidance range for the price it pays farmers to procure milk.
(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
