ASX opens higher as tech sector rebounds
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More news: Australian shares opened higher, supported by a rally across the tech, mining and real estate sectors.
The benchmark ASX 200 index was up by 141.4 points, or 1.62%, to 8,850 at 10:23am AEDT. All 11 of the sectoral indices opened in the green.
Tech (+4.60%) rallied at the open, driven by gains in WiseTech (+4.60%), NextDC (+4.88%) and Technology One (+4.71%).
Car Group (+7.55%) surged and was among the best performers at the open after posting a 16% jump in first-half profit.
Web Travel Group (+7.09%) was also among the top ASX 200 gainers after reaffirming its FY26 guidance despite an audit by the Spanish tax authority.
Among the laggards, Challenger (-3.92%), News Corporation (-2.79%), GQG Partners (-1.18%) and Amcor (-0.83%) led losses.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is due to arrive in Australia for a four-day visit, with nationwide protests expected.
Australian shares to open higher after Dow Jones hits 50,000 for the first time
The news: Australian shares are set to open higher after US equities rallied on Friday, led by a rebound in technology stocks following several sessions of heavy selling.
The Dow Jones climbed above the 50,000 level for the first time supported by optimism around the US economic outlook and corporate earnings. Bitcoin also rose after having fallen around 50% from its peak.
The numbers: Updated at 7:55am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 90 points to 8,800.
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 2.47%, S&P 500 up 1.97% and the Nasdaq up 2.18%.
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.43%, DAX up 0.94% and FTSE 100 up 0.59%.
- Spot gold: up 3.98% to USD4,968 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.74% to USD68.05/bbl and US WTI up 0.41% to USD63.55/bbl.
- AUD: up 1.25% at 70.01 US cents.
- Bitcoin: up 2.21% to USD70,807.
The context: US equities posted their strongest session since May on Friday, rebounding from a tech-fuelled sell-off driven by concerns over heavy spending on artificial intelligence.
The S&P 500 rose 1.97%, while Nasdaq jumped 2.18%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.5% to close at 50,115 on Friday.
The Dow Jones is up 4.3% this year, outperforming other major US indices. After falling below 40,000 in April 2025, following Donald Trump's sweeping tariff announcements, the index has since rallied around 33%, supported by interest rate cuts and increasing optimism around economic growth.
Chipmakers led the rebound, with the sector soaring 5.7%, following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang telling CNBC demand for AI remains "incredibly high". However, Amazon sank 5.6% after flagging plans to spend USD200 billion ($285.41 billion) on AI-related investments.
Bitcoin recovered some losses Friday, rising 10% to USD71,458 after briefly falling below USD61,000 to its lowest level since October 2024. Despite the rebound, the cryptocurrency was down 16% for the week.
Locally, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is due to arrive in Australia for a four-day visit, with nationwide protests expected.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release its monthly household spending indicator for December at 11:30am AEDT.
