The Australian sharemarket shot up at the open, as blue-chip companies received a positive handover from Wall Street. The ASX200 gained ground in unknown territory to notch a record high of 7182, powered by advances in mining and energy stocks.
Materials was in bullish mode, as BHP
(ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) all edged over 3 per cent higher by lunchtime. The mining sector’s optimistic sentiment constrasted with the overnight fall in iron ore prices, as the steel-making commodity’s futures are forecasting a strong rise.
At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 1.19 per cent or 84.20 points higher at 7179.10.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 86 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Materials, up 2.24 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Information Technology, down 0.22 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Inghams Group (ASX:ING), trading 8.28 per cent higher at $3.40. It is followed by shares in South32 (ASX:S32) and IGO (ASX:IGO).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is CSR (ASX:CSR), trading 5.10 per cent lower at $5.58. It is followed by shares in Nuix (ASX:NXL) and Nearmap (ASX:NEA).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1895.83 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.60 per cent lower at US$189.73 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 3.08 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 77.49 US cents.
