Aussie stock market closes slightly higher

The Australian stock market has edged slightly higher at the close.

At the close on Tuesday, the S&P ASX/200 index was up 5.5 points, or 0.10 percent, at 5,484.3 points and the All Ordinaries was up 5.1 points, or 0.09 percent, at 5,569.9 points.

CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner told Xinhua the Australian stock market was lifted by energy stocks such as Woodside, BHP Billiton and Santos at Tuesday's close.

At the close, ANZ was up 0.57 percent, the National Australia Bank rose 0.18 percent, Westpac fell 0.10 percent, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia declined 0.27 percent.

BHP Billiton rallied at 0.66 percent, rival Rio Tinto advanced 1.12 percent while gold miner Newcrest was 0.95 percent higher.

Oil Search jumped 0.70 percent, Santos climbed 2.70 percent while Woodside Petroleum surged 0.69 percent.

Wesfarmers surged 0.50 percent while rival Woolworths shed 0.43 percent.

Qantas gained 1.27 percent while telecommunication giant Telstra's was unchanged at Tuesday's close.

Source : XINHUA