Australian shares swing into red as miners selloff
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More news: Australian shares shed early gains and slipped into negative territory by 1:45pm AEST, as big banks held gains and miners continued to slide.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index down 1.6 points, or 0.02%, to 8,553.9, with seven of the 11 sectoral indices in the red.
Miners dropped 1.6%, with iron ore majors Fortescue (-2.5%), BHP (-1.5%) and Rio Tinto (-1.1%) all down. Gold miners also lost ground, with Emerald Resources tumbling 9.3%, as did lithium miners Mineral Resources (-5.9%), IGO (-5.8%) and Pilbara Minerals (-4.5%).
Financials, up 1%, was the best performing sector, bolstered by Commonwealth Bank and ANZ, which both added 1.5%.
Australian shares rise as CBA extends rally; gold miners slide
More news: Australian shares lifted in early trading, tracking gains in the US and Europe overnight, as big banks continued Tuesday's rally and offset further losses by mining and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 17.5 points, or 0.21%, to 8,573 by 10:30am AEST. Six of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Financials, up 1%, was the best performing sector after ending Tuesday's session 2% higher. Commonwealth Bank added 1% having surged to a new record close of $188.13 yesterday.
Miners, down 0.9%, were the worst performers. Gold stocks made up nine of the worst 10 performing ASX 200 companies, after gold prices lowered overnight, with Emerald Resources (-5%) leading the selloff.
Meanwhile, Virgin Australia added 4.6% after closing 11.4% higher on Tuesday following its eagerly anticipated IPO.
Elsewhere, Xero shares were halted after the accounting software company agreed to acquire US-based Melio for $3.9 billion. PointsBet also entered a trading halt this morning as the bookmaker awaits the results of its shareholder vote over the proposed $402 million takeover by Japanese entertainment group MIXI.
Australian shares to rise as Israel-Iran truce spurs Wall Street rally
The news: Australian shares are set to lift at the open after US stock indices notched their second straight session of gains, as tensions in the Middle East appeared to cool.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 5 points, or 0.1%, to 8,540
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 1.19%, S&P 500 up 1.11%, and Nasdaq up 1.43%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 1.04%, DAX up 1.6%, and FTSE 100 up 0.01%
- Spot gold: down 1.33% to USD3,324 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.98% to USD66.82/bbl, and US WTI down 5.11% to USD65.01/bbl
- AUD: up 0.53% to 64.95 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.25% to USD105,875.
The context: Wall Street stocks extended gains overnight as investors weighed optimism brought by a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and hawkish comments by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on future interest rate cuts.
All three major US stock indices closed higher for the second successive session since the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend. Investors were buoyed by a shaky truce between Israel and Iran, even after reports that both sides had violated the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Powell told Congress that the central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates, citing a strong labour market and uncertainty over the inflationary effects of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
