The Australian sharemarket rebounded from yesterday’s fall and swam in positive territory today thanks to a rise in miners and banks. At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.9 per cent or 68 points higher at 7,393.
The gains came after Wall Street reached new record highs and investors digested the Reserve Bank’s latest decision made yesterday.
Across the sectors, 9 out of 11 closed in the green. Materials closed the highest, up 1.4 per cent, followed by financials, up 1.3 per cent, then consumer staples, up 1 per cent. Technology finished the lowest, down 0.2 per cent, followed by communication services, edging 0.1 per cent lower.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was AMP
(ASX:AMP), closing 9.3 per cent higher following the divestment of its equity interest in Resolution Life Australasia. The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Tyro Payments
(ASX:TYR), closing 15 per cent lower after providing no guidance at its annual general meeting today.
Heavyweight miners remained steady despite iron ore prices trading lower. BHP
(ASX:BHP) closed 1 per cent higher following discussions with Wyloo Metals about the Noront Resources acquisition. Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) closed 1.2 per cent higher and Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) closed 3.1 per cent higher. Lithium miners were also up today, with Orocobre
(ASX:ORE) closing 6.4 per cent higher, Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS) closing 5 per cent higher and Mineral Resources
(ASX:MIN) closing 3.9 per cent higher.
All major banks closed higher, with ANZ
(ASX:ANZ) up 2.3 per cent, NAB
(ASX:NAB) up 1.3 per cent, Commonwealth
(ASX:CBA) up 1.2 per cent and Westpac
(ASX:WBC) up 0.4 per cent. Macquarie Group
(ASX:MQG) also closed 2.2 per cent higher.
IPOAustral Resources Australia
(ASX:AR1) started trading today. Their shares issued at $0.20, started trading at $0.155 and closed flat at $0.18.
C29 Metals
(ASX:C29) started trading today. Their shares issued at $0.20, started trading at $0.21 and closed flat at $0.20.
Local economic newsAustralian Bureau of Statistics released the September dwelling approvals The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved fell 4.3 per cent in September. Private sector houses fell 16 per cent, while private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 18.1 per cent. The value of non-residential building approved fell 11.3 per cent.
Australian Bureau of Statistics also released the living cost index (LCI) report. In the September 2021 quarter, all five living cost indexes rose. Transport was the main contributor for all five population sub-groups. The Automotive fuel series reached a record level in the September 2021 quarter, due to higher global oil prices amid economic recovery and supply disruptions.
Housing also contributed to the rise for all five population sub-groups, due to an increase in property rates, which is the largest rise since 2016. Many councils increased rates after implementing smaller rises, rebates or rate freezes last year. All LCIs rose annually by between 2.6 and 2.9 per cent. The increase is due to Automotive fuel with annual price rises of 25 per cent.
Company newsPlease join us for Stocks of the Hour
here. Financial services provider AMP
(ASX:AMP) has agreed to divest its 19.13 per cent equity interest in Resolution Life Australasia (RLA) for $524 million to Resolution Life Group.
Mining giant BHP
(ASX:BHP) has started talks with billionaire Andrew Forest's Wyloo Metals about the proposed takeover of Canadian nickel miner Noront Resources.
Telecom giant Telstra
(ASX:TLS) has renewed its contract with the Australian Department of Defence, signing a five-year deal worth over $1 billion.
Amanda Hughes from QBE Insurance
(ASX:QBE) has been appointed group executive of people and culture.
Cimic's
(ASX:CIM) subsidiary Thiess has secured a $220 million contract renewal of three years to continue providing mining services at Wahana Baratama Mining’s coal mine in South Kalimantan, Indonesia.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 39 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 4 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 4 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 83 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Materials, up 1.4 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Information Technology, down 0.2 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was AMP
(ASX:AMP), closing 9.3 per cent higher at $1.18. It was followed by shares in Orocobre
(ASX:ORE) and Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Tyro Payments
(ASX:TYR), closing 15 per cent lower at $3.45. It was followed by shares in Redbubble
(ASX:RBL) and Uniti Group
(ASX:UWL).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei is closed due to Culture Day
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.9 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.5 per cent.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1781.17 an ounce.
Iron ore is 6.6 per cent lower at US$96.45 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.4 per cent.
Light crude is trading $1.11 lower at US$82.80 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 74.37 US cents.
