Australian shares rose on Monday, opening a week filled with pivotal events such as the US presidential election and monetary policy meetings from both the Reserve Bank of Australia and the US Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6% or 45.8 points to close at 8,164.60.
The US presidential election has reached a fever pitch, with both Democratic and Republican candidates "virtually tied" in opinion polls, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, analysts from Morgan Stanley are expecting the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% during its monetary policy meeting on Nov. 4 to 5. Analysts expect the central bank to change the cash rate by May of next year.
In other domestic news, the ANZ-Indeed Job Ads report said that job advertisements in Australia rose 0.3% month on month in October, following an upwardly revised 2.3% rise in September.
CoreLogic's Australian national Home Value Index rose 0.3% in October, reducing the annual growth rate to 6% over the past 12 months as stock levels rose further.
On the corporate front, Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC, NZE:WBC) reported earnings of AU$1.025 per share for the fiscal second half ended Sept. 30, with attributable net profit rising 9% to AU$3.65 billion from AU$3.34 billion. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected EPS of AU$0.908 and net profit of AU$3.49 billion. The lender's shares closed almost 1% higher.
Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) decided to fine managing director and founder Chris Ellison AU$8.8 million and remove incentives and remuneration of up to AU$9.6 million following the initial results of an investigation into his past dealings with related entities. The mining firm's shares slumped nearly 10% at market close.
Pharmaceutical firm Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) said the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services amended the Medicare policy covering its prostate cancer imaging product, Illuccix. Its shares ended about 4% higher.
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