The Aussie sharemarket snapped a three day losing streak, traded as high as 1.0 per cent in the afternoon, as blue chip players and tech stocks rallied after a lead from Wall St. Investors shrugged off inflation concerns and the taper timeline following the minutes from the Fed. At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.5 per cent or 39 points higher at 7,312.
The ASX 200 nearly recouped all the losses from the past three days underpinned by a surge in technology shares, up 4.1 per cent followed by materials adding 1.7 per cent. We had a few fractional losers, energy shed 0.9 per cent followed by financials at 0.5 per cent then utilities at 0.2 per cent.
Around the grounds, National Australia Bank
(ASX:NAB) led out of the major four banks adding 0.1 per cent while Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) jumped 2.3 per cent out of the mining giants. BHP
(ASX:BHP) added 0.6 per cent. Gold had a stellar run with Regis Resources
(ASX:RRL) rising over 5 per cent with Evolution Mining
(ASX:EVN), adding 4.8 per cent.
Biotech CSL
(ASX:CSL) added 1 per cent, Afterpay
(ASX:APT) closed 4.5 per cent higher after the 10-year treasury bond yield dipped, while counter part Square rallied on Wall St.
Collins Foods
(ASX:CKF) fell 0.4 per cent after on news that they are set to acquire nine KFC restaurants for $16.1 million (€10.25 million) from the second largest KFC vendor in the Netherlands. The news followed the deal last week when they inked a deal with Yum! Brands.
Whitehaven Coal
(ASX:WHC) fell 2.1 per cent after run-of-mine coal production grew 15 per cent compared the same period last year. However, saleable coal production dipped 4 per cent lower. Despite the increase in the price of coal due to the energy crunch in Asia and Europe, their sale price was below the general coal price, though they believe that there will be “significant cash generation over the coming months” after the price of coal hit record highs said chief executive Paul Flynn.
Local economic newsThe number of jobs fell 138,000 last month, greater than the consensus forecast of 110,000, as the lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne put a dampener on employment.
The unemployment rate rose 0.1 per cent to 4.6 per cent in September from the 4.5 per cent in August as per the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The participation rate fell to its lowest rate since June last year to 64.5 per cent from 65.2 per cent in August.
Full-time jobs rose 26,700 as part-time jobs fell 164,700 while hours worked rose 0.9 per cent to 1,729 million hours, but were 2 per cent lower than March last year.
Company newsPlease join me for Stocks of the Hour
hereWealth platform provider Netwealth
(ASX:NWL) provided a bullish update to its net inflow guidance, after it attracted $4.0 billion funds under administration for the September quarter.
Wealth platform HUB24
(ASX:HUB) hit record quarterly net inflows of $3.0 billion for the September quarter, while funds under administration surged 139 per cent to $63.2 billion as of the end of September.
South32
(ASX:S32) has eyed a Chilean copper mine and put down a US$1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) payment to acquire a 45 per cent stake in Sierra Gorda.
Online marketplace Redbubble's
(ASX:RBL) headline figures showing a showed a deceleration in growth for the September quarter.
Covid-19 lockdowns saw online beauty retailer Adore Beauty
(ASX:ABY) attract 24 per cent more customers, as the shift to online shopping helped boost the pureplay beauty retailer’s results for the September quarter.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 105 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 15 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 57 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 50 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 4.1 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Energy, down 0.9 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Netwealth Group
(ASX:NWL), closing 15.6 per cent higher at $16.52. It was followed by shares in Perseus Mining
(ASX:PRU) and HUB24
(ASX:HUB).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Redbubble
(ASX:RBL), closing 12.5 per cent lower at $3.99. It was followed by shares in Insurance Australia Group
(ASX:IAG) and AMP
(ASX:AMP).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has gained 1.3 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng is closed due to National Day.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.1 per cent.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1790.52 an ounce.
Iron ore is 3.7 per cent lower at US$124.17 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 2.3 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.62 higher at US$80.44 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.87 US cents.
Investor eventPlease join us for our next online investor event on Tuesday 26 October with six companies presenting. From lithium explorers to marketing service providers. Make your way to fnn.com.au to
reserve your free online spot.
