ASX lifts 0.5% on third straight day of gains
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The ASX jumped for a third consecutive day, after Wall Street's S&P 500 hit record highs for the second session in a row. The benchmark ASX 200 lifted 0.5% to 7,514.90, helped by healthcare, utilities and mining stocks. Japan's Nikkei index hit 34-year highs as the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-low interest rates on hold.
The numbers: Oil prices rallied overnight, with Brent spiking above the USD80 level. Berent futures are trading at USD79.58 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude is trading at USD74.68.
Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since the US spot EFT was approved, dipping below USD40,000 ($60,606) to trade at USD40,085 by the Australian close.
Healthcare stocks were the best performers by sector, gaining 1%, while financial stocks lifted 0.8% and materials jumped 0.6%. Consumer discretionary stocks faded 0.4%. Judo Capital was a top performer on the ASX, surging more than 17% after boosting its first-half profits by 24%. The Aussie dollar is buying 66 US cents.
The context: Australian manufacturing and services purchasing managers index data comes out tomorrow, followed by PMI data from Japan, France, Germany and the UK. Netflix, Johnson & Johnson and Verizon will post quarterly earnings overnight, with Tesla to follow on Wednesday night.
