ASX edges lower at the open; tech stocks pace gains
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More news: Australian shares lowered at the open as tech stocks continued their recent rally, while six of the 11 sectoral indices fell into negative territory. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 12.3 points, or 0.14%, at 10:40am AEDT.
Technology (+1.5%) was the best performing sector, boosted by strong gains in WiseTech (+2.5%) and Life360 (+1.3%).
Data centre companies advanced after assistant minister Andrew Charlton announced the launch of Data Centre Australia, a new peak body for the sector. DigiCo (+4.5%) and HMC Capital (+3.9%) led the rally.
Insurance group Suncorp (-2.6%) was the worst performer on the ASX 200, extending losses from Thursday when it flagged $350 million in expected costs due to storm damage in parts of Queensland and New South Wales.
Australian shares to start higher as global equities hold steady
The news: Australian shares are poised to open lower as global equities held steady after four days of broad gains, with Wall Street closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 30 points to 8,599
- Wall Street: closed
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.04%, DAX up 0.18% and FTSE 100 up 0.02%
- Spot gold: down 0.08% to USD4,159 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 3.93% to USD60.65/bbl and US WTI up 0.77% to USD59.10/bbl
- AUD: up 0.17% at 65.33 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 1.03% to USD91,436.
The context: European and Asian benchmarks saw modest movements overnight, with S&P 500 futures holding steady. US markets were closed on Thursday due to the public holiday, and will only open for half a day on Friday EST.
It follows four straight sessions of gains as investors turned bullish following a string of delayed economic data releases, which heightened optimism for a rate cut when US Federal Reserve policymakers meet next month.
