The Australian stock market is trading marginally higher on Tuesday with investors indulging in some selective buying despite a lack of fresh triggers.
Healthcare, information technology, industrial and energy stocks are trading firm, while mining, financial and property trusts stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 5,225.9 after a flat start, is currently trading at 5,219, up 8.7 points or 0.2 percent from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 7.4 points at 5,202.2.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank (ANZ) and Westpac (WBK) are down marginally and National Australia Bank is trading flat, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia is up 0.7 percent. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are up 1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In the mining space BHP Billiton (BHP) is trading marginally higher and Rio Tinto (RIO) is trading 0.3 percent down.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Oil Search are up 0.2 to 0.7 percent. Caltex Australia is adding 1.3 percent, while Origin Energy is trading weak, losing 0.6 percent.
Arrium is trading higher by 4.2 percent. Aristocrat Leisure, Incitec Pivot, Amcor, Brambles and Cochlear are up 2 to 3 percent. Crown is trading nearly 2 percent up. Ansell, Investa Office Fund, Aurizon Holdings, PanAust and CSL are up 1.4 to 1.8 percent.
Lynas Corp. shares are down more than 4 percent. Monadelphous Group, Regis Resources and Newcrest Mining are down 2.2 to 2.8 percent, while Flight Centre, UGL and Goodman Group are trading lower by 1.4 to 1.8 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened slightly lower against the U.S. dollar. In early trades the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9953, down nearly 0.5 percent from Monday's close.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore are trading notably higher, while Malaysia, Japan and New Zealand are up marginally.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction on Monday after moving modestly lower during the earlier part of the session. Upbeat retail sales data limited the market's downside.
The major averages ended the day mixed, with the Dow posting a modest loss. While the Dow dipped 26.8 points or 0.2 percent to 15,091.7, the Nasdaq edged up 2.2 points or 0.1 percent to 3,438.8 and the S&P 500 inched up by less than a tenth of a percent to 1,633.8.
Major European markets ended mixed on Monday. While the French CAC 40 index edged down by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index inched up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX index closed just above the unchanged line.
U.S. crude oil ended at a one-week low on Monday, mostly on demand growth concerns after a sharp decline in refined crude output for April in China and some soft economic data out of the world second largest economy.
Crude for June delivery ended down $0.87 or 0.9 percent at $95.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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