ASX lifts as tech stocks surge; Silk Logistics rockets as ACCC clears buyout
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More news: Australian shares edged higher at the open, as technology stocks tracked gains by big tech companies on Wall Street overnight.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 12.6 points, or 0.15%, to 8,608.4 at 10:45am AEST. Eight of the 11 sectoral indices were in the green.
The tech sector was the best performing, up 1.3%, as Life360 (3.8%), Xero (1.1%) and WiseTech (0.8%) all lifted.
Miners dropped 1.3% as iron ore giants Rio Tinto (-1.7%) and BHP (-1.5%) retreated from Thursday's rally.
Elsewhere, shares in small-cap container operator Silk Logistics surged 22.4% after the competition regulator green-lit its takeover by Dubai's DP World.
Australian shares to open higher as Wall St tech surge resets records
The news: Australian shares are set to rise at the open after tech megacaps powered strong gains on Wall Street overnight.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 27 points, or 0.30%, to 8,611
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.77%, S&P 500 up 0.83%, and Nasdaq up 1.02%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.21%, DAX up 0.61%, and FTSE 100 up 0.55%
- Spot gold: down 0.93% to USD3,326 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.15% to USD68.90/bbl, and US WTI down 0.42% to USD67.17/bbl
- AUD: down 0.26% to 65.65 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.11% to USD109,866.
The context: Wall Street's three main indices all ended higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq resetting record closing highs. Chip maker Nvidia, the world's largest stock by market capitalisation, surged 1.3%, closing in on a $4 trillion valuation. Amazon (1.6%), Microsoft (1.6%) and Meta (0.8%) also lifted.
Investors were also buoyed after new data showed stronger-than-expected employment growth in June and eased concerns that the US economy is slowing. The report soothed fears over the direction of the US labour market, but saw traders slash chances of an interest rate cut this month.
After markets closed, the US House of Representatives narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s USD3.4 trillion ($5.17 trillion) tax-cut and spending bill by 218-214 votes.
