ASX opens higher buoyed by tech stocks
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Australian shares were higher at the open, rebounding from the prior session’s sell-off, supported by gains across the tech and real estate sectors.
The benchmark ASX 200 was up by 58 points, or 0.65%, to 8,959 at 10:26am AEDT. Nine of the 11 sectoral indices opened in the green.
Tech (+3.85%) was the strongest performing sector, driven by a surge in Catapult Sports (+6.36%), Zip (+5.55%), Xero (+4.85%) and WiseTech (+3.87%). This move is in parallel with Wall Street’s performance overnight.
Droneshield (+6.54%), Iperionx (+5.85%) and Magellan Financial Group (+5.01%) followed suit as among the top performers across the ASX 200 in early trade.
Mining (-1.12%) was the worst performing sector at the open, dragged lower by BHP (-1.16%), Rio Tinto (-1.13%), Northern Star (-3.14%) and Evolution Mining (-2.18%), following a second consecutive day of losses.
Woodside Energy (-3.12%), QBE Insurance (-2.92%), Karoon Energy (-2.88%) and Capricorn Metal (-2.45%) were among the worst performers across the ASX 200.
On the data front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will publish the monthly household spending indicator and international trades in goods data for January at 11:30am AEDT.
Australian shares to open higher as tech stocks lift Wall Street
The news: Australian shares are set to open higher after US stocks advanced on Wednesday, led by gains in tech stocks, as markets appeared to set aside some concerns over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
US equities rebounded after data showed the service economy expanded at its fastest pace since mid-2022 while a price index eased to an almost one-year low.
The numbers: Updated at 7:50am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 87 points to 8,944.
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.67%, S&P 500 up 0.87% and the Nasdaq up 1.41%.
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.79%, DAX up 1.74% and FTSE 100 up 0.80%.
- Spot gold: up 0.93% to USD5,136 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.27% to USD81.63/bbl and US WTI up 0.82% to USD75.17/bbl.
- AUD: up 0.59% at 70.77 US cents.
- Bitcoin: up 7.33% to USD73,282.
The context: All three major US indices traded higher overnight as investors rotated into tech stocks, lifting the Nasdaq 1.40% and keeping the tech‑heavy index in positive territory since the US-Israeli strike on Iran that triggered the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Nvidia, Amazon and Applied Digital rose 1.56%, 3.83% and 10.08% respectively.
Elsewhere, Iran denied a report from the New York Times claiming Iranian operatives indirectly contacted the Central Intelligence Agency on Sunday to discuss terms to end the conflict. Oil prices briefly rose following the denial before reversing those gains as traders focused on a US plan to have its navy escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
On the data front, the US service economy expanded in February, with the Institute for Supply Management’s services index rising 2.3 points to 56.1. Separate data showed US companies added 63,000 jobs last month, the most since July. The index of prices paid for services and materials fell to an almost one-year low.
Locally, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release the monthly household spending indicator and international trades in goods data for January at 11:30am AEDT.
