ASX gains as IT sector leads
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The news: The Australian sharemarket has finished higher with the tech and materials sectors leading gains.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 finished up 0.48% to 7,642.1, with eight out of 11 sectors ending in green.
The best-performing sector was IT, up 1.01%, followed by materials (0.99%) and financials (0.66%). Macquarie Technology Group surged 6.57% to $80.26 as Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded its rating to ‘overweight’ and increased its price target by 100%.
BHP (1.26%) and Rio Tinto (1.97%) led gains, following a 1.2% lift in iron ore prices overnight to USD$107.03 ($166). BHP also announced it had lifted output for most of its commodities and was on track to achieve full-year production guidance.
The best performer across the ASX 200 was Telix Pharmaceuticals, up 8.29%, as investors cheered its strong US sales figures. Challenger was also one of the top-performing stocks, up 5.09%, after posting strong growth during the March quarter.
Meanwhile, Growthpoint gained 1.28% after upgrading its full-year guidance for funds from operations on the back of improved office leasing results.
The worst-performing sector was healthcare, down 0.47%, followed by telecommunication services (-0.25%) and energy (-0.1%). ResMed fell 4.33% to $27.63 as it tracked losses on the NYSE, where it is also listed, following an announcement by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly that its obesity drug significantly reduced sleep apnea. ResMed offers a range of sleep apnea reducing products.
Santos fell 0.78% after it reported lower sales and production for the March quarter while AMP fell 0.22% after its quarterly results were further dampened by its banking arm.
The Australian dollar is higher, buying US64.54 cents.
The context: Later tonight the US Department of Labor will release the latest unemployment figures, which the US Federal Reserve will take into account when determining the next monetary policy decision.
Friday will see Woodside, Pilbara and Whitehaven Coal post quarterly results.
