ASX holding on to small gain as real estate stocks extend rally
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More news: The Australian sharemarket is on course for a second straight day of gains, once again driven by a rally across real estate stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 12.1 points or 0.15% to 7,937.3 at 2pm AEDT, after paring gains of around 0.6% in early trading.
Real estate, up 1.8%, was the best performing sector, following a 2.1% jump on Tuesday. The sector's largest company Goodman Group was up 3.6%, with Charter Hall Group (3.5%), Stockland (1.3%) and Lendlease (1.2%) also gaining.
The rise was offset by losses across the mining and energy sectors, which were both down 1.4%. The market's largest miners, Rio Tinto (-1.7%), BHP (-1.6%) and Fortescue (-1.1%), all dropped, as did oil giant Woodside Energy (-1.3%). Uranium miners Paladin Energy (-4%), Boss Energy (-3.8%) and Deep Yellow (-1.5%) also extended sizeable losses from Tuesday.
Australian shares to start higher after mixed Wall Street finish
The news: The Australian sharemarket is poised to open higher after a volatile session on Wall Street as investors braced for the impending tariff announcements from the Trump administration.
The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 28 points or 0.35% at 8,001 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.03%, S&P 500 up 0.38%, Nasdaq up 0.87%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.61%, CAC 40 up 1.10%, DAX up 1.70%
- Spot gold: down 0.14% to USD3,119.07 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.41% to USD74.46/bbl, US WTI down 0.38% to USD71.21/bbl
- AUD: up 0.46% at 62.76 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 2.95% to USD85,004.45.
The context: Two of the three major US stock indices ended higher, reversing early losses ahead of US President Donald Trump unveiling his extensive tariff plans, due on Thursday AEDT. Financial markets have been volatile in recent weeks as investors assess the economic fallout, which has sparked worries about a US economic slowdown and higher inflation. Overnight, tech stocks rebounded, led by Tesla ahead of its first-quarter vehicle deliveries, while the S&P was also weighed down by falls in healthcare and airlines.
What to watch: Building approvals data for February at 11.30am; RBA Assistant Governor Christopher Kent to deliver keynote speech on the Policy Implementation System updates at 10.25am.
The source: Bloomberg
