ASX opens higher as big banks and tech stocks rally
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More news: Australian shares climbed at the open as finance and tech stocks led broad gains across the market, as 10 of the 11 sectoral indices moved into positive territory.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 69.2 points, or 0.79%, to 8,808.0 at 10:30am AEST.
The big four lenders all added 1-2% as the sector lifted 1.5%. Tech stocks also advanced 1.5%, led by software provider Iress (+4.6%), which announced the appointment of new CEO Andrew Russell this morning.
Energy (-0.9%) was the only sector in the red, as oil giants Woodside (-1.9%) and Santos (-0.8%) retreated.
Elsewhere, TPG Telecom (-2%), NIB (-1.8%) and Amcor (-1.5%) were among the worst performers on the ASX 200 as they traded ex-dividend.
Australian shares to open higher after Alphabet-led Nasdaq rally
The news: Australian shares are set to rise at the open after tech majors paced gains on Wall Street overnight.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 31 points, or 0.35%, to 8,886
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.05%, S&P 500 up 0.51% and Nasdaq up 1.02%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.86%, DAX up 0.46% and FTSE 100 up 0.67%
- Spot gold: up 0.74% to USD3,559 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.30% USD67.40/bbl and US WTI down 2.77% to USD63.77/bbl
- AUD: up 0.36% to 65.44 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.84% to USD112,153.
The context: The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed more than 1% as Alphabet (+9%), Apple (+3.8%) and Tesla (+1.4%) all notched gains. Alphabet shares surged after a federal judge ruled that Google will not have to sell its Chrome web browser or Android. Apple shares were also boosted by the ruling, which preserved lucrative payments from Google to the iPhone maker.
Elsewhere, an unexpected drop in job openings to the lowest in 10 months saw traders almost fully pricing in an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve this month, while projecting at least two reductions in 2025.
