ASX extends Christmas rally
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The news: The Australian sharemarket has extended a late end of year rally, sidestepping a tech selloff in the US overnight as volumes remain subdued.
The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.5% to end at 8,261, with nine out of 11 sectors finishing higher.
Biggest movers:
- Clarity Pharmaceuticals (5.75%) – the diagnostic imaging company appears to be rising after Bell Potter recommended Clarity and placed a $3 price target on the stock.
- Zip (4.81%) – the buy now pay later platform looks like finishing up the year as one of the ASX's best performers, having almost quadrupled in value since January 1.
- Mesoblast (10.5%) – the biotech is still riding positive momentum after receiving FDA approval for its Ryoncil treatment last week.
Other news:
- Paladin (1.72%) – Dual-listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
- WiseTech (-1.59%) – Co-founder Richard White sold almost $450 million of stock in the leadup to Christmas.
- Netflix (-0.86%) – The platform's venture into sports streaming may well be paying off after posting record audience numbers for its Christmas Day NFL games.
The Australian dollar is buying 62.11 US cents.
What’s ahead: It's another short week for trading coming up. The ASX will shut early at 2:10pm on Tuesday for New Year's Eve and remain closed on Wednesday for New Year's Day.
In the background there's a selection of Australian and US economic data coming out, across construction and manufacturing activity as well as property prices.
The source: Bloomberg
