Australian shares rise as big rate-hike decisions loom

The local share market is moving higher ahead of an action-packed week of central bank meetings and economic data.

At noon AEST on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was on track for its biggest move in more than two weeks, up 41.6 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 7,350.8. The broader All Ordinaries was up 40.9 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 7,541.9.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is set to hand down its latest decision on interest rates on Tuesday, and while the ASX's futures market predicts a 100 per cent chance the RBA board will keep rates on hold, some economists aren't so sure.

"We've got six, seven per cent inflation at the moment, rather than two to three per cent," CommSec chief economist Craig James told Ausbiz TV on Monday morning. 

"In our view the Reserve Bank is going to continue to lean against the strength of the economy. We think this will be the final interest rate hike, get (the cash rate) up to 3.85 per cent and then move to the sidelines."

The Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Norway's Norges Bank will also hand down interest rate decisions this week. 

There's also March jobs figures to be reported on Friday in the United States, where regulators were scrambling on Monday to take over floundering First Republic Bank. 

"This will be one of the most eventful weeks of the year," Brown Brothers Harriman global head of currency strategy Win Thin wrote in a note.

Every sector was up at midday except for tech, which had edged 0.1 per cent lower. 

Energy was the biggest gainer, rising 1.65 per cent as Brent crude prices rebounded to just under $US80 a barrel.

Woodside was up 1.3 per cent to $34.12, Santos had added 2.7 per cent to $7.26 and Whitehaven Coal had risen 3.4 per cent to $7.445.

The big banks were mixed with CBA and NAB climbing 0.4 per cent, Westpac basically flat and ANZ down 0.2 per cent. 

The heavyweight material sector was mostly quiet, up 0.1 per cent with BHP and Fortescue essentially flat and Rio up 0.1 per cent, but building products companies like James Hardie, Boral and Brickworks were all up around one or two per cent. 

Perenti had soared 10 per cent to $1.27 after the mining services company secured a five-year, $630 million deal with Colorado-based Newmont Corp for services at its Subika underground goldmine in Ghana.

In health care, ResMed had jumped 6.3 per cent to $35.825 after the respiratory products device maker reported quarterly earnings on Friday.