Australian equities advanced during Tuesday's morning session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index climbing 0.8% to reach 8,930.40 points.

Among major Australian companies with a market capitalization of at least A$150 billion (approximately US$103.7 billion), BHP Billiton PLC led the gains in early trading, its share price rising 3.0%; South32 followed with a robust increase of 2.8%; while REA Group secured the third spot among the top gainers, climbing 2.6%.

Pilbara Minerals Group was the session's biggest decliner, with its stock falling 1.7%; Qantas Airways and Scentre Group trailed closely, both registering declines of 0.9%.

In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar index held steady at 94.69; the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar against the Australian dollar remained stable at 1.45 Australian dollars per U.S. dollar.

In the bond market, the yield on Australia's 10-year government bond edged up by 0.86 basis points, settling at 4.822%.