ASX opens higher driven by tech stocks
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More news: Australian shares opened higher supported by gains across the tech, healthcare and communications sectors.
The benchmark ASX 200 was up by 40 points, or 0.45%, to 8,999 at 10:28am AEDT. 10 of the 11 sectoral indices opened in the green.
Tech (+2.02%) was the strongest performing sector, led by a jump in Technology One (+5.89%) after upgrading its full-year guidance.
Superloop (+12.80%) rallied after announcing an agreement to acquire 100% of Lightning Broadband-owner Lynham Networks.
Magellan (+9.71%) rose despite reporting a 27% net profit decline, while Netwealth (+9.45%) rose after posting a 19.9% increase in profit.
Dexus (+5.07%) gained after launching an on-market securities buyback.
Meanwhile, Mining (-0.77%) was the worst performing sector across the ASX 200, led by a fall in BHP (-1.71%), Northern Star (-1.81%), Evolution Mining (-2.68%) and South32 (-1.13%).
Fletcher Building (-3.48%) was the worst performing stock in the open after reporting a half-year net loss of NZD11 million ($9.4 million).
Australian shares to open lower as Wall St seesaws on AI worries
The news: Australian shares are set to open lower after US stocks posted modest gains on Tuesday, as technology shares rebounded from earlier losses and financial stocks also provided support.
The market’s attention will turn to Friday’s personal consumption expenditure report for clues on US inflation and its potential impact on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.
The numbers: Updated at 7:38am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 18 points to 8,934.
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.02%, S&P 500 up 0.22% and the Nasdaq up 0.08%.
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.54%, DAX up 0.80% and FTSE 100 up 0.79%.
- Spot gold: down 2.26% to USD4,877 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent down 1.94% to USD67.35/bbl and US WTI down 1% to USD62.28/bbl.
- AUD: up 0.14% at 70.82 US cents.
- Bitcoin: down 1.51% to USD67,788.
The context: All three major US indices staged a late rebound on Tuesday after a volatile session, with the Nasdaq reversing early losses of more than 1%.
After falling as much as 1.5% earlier in the day, the S&P 500 information technology sector pared declines to trade about 1% higher, supported by gains in Nvidia and Apple, which rose 1.55% and 3.31% respectively.
The recovery followed heavy selling in the previous week, when concerns about artificial intelligence disrupting business models weighed on software firms, brokerages and trucking companies, pushing Wall Street’s three main indices to their largest weekly decline since mid-November.
Financial stocks led gains on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 financials index rising 1.10%. Gains in major banks including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase also lifted the Dow.
Elsewhere, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis is due to release the PCE price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, for December on Friday.
Locally, Fletcher Building, Spark New Zealand, Suncorp, The Lottery Corp, Dexus, Magellan Financials, Mirvac and Vicinity Centres are scheduled to report half-year earnings today.
The source: Reuters
