ASX up 0.17% near noon: Commodities mixed

Market Reports

by Peter Milios


Australian shares opened higher, buoyed by a rise in tech stocks, particularly Tesla and Amazon, which lifted the Nasdaq amid mixed performance on Wall Street. At 11:35am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.17 per cent higher at 7,995.60, with four of 11 sectors posting gains.

In the US, the Dow Jones fell 0.5%, the S&P dropped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.3%. Investor anxiety persists over the pace of the US economic slowdown, with the August jobs report expected to be pivotal. If job growth significantly underperforms, fears of a recession could impact equities.

Commodities fluctuated, with iron ore declining, while oil and gold saw modest changes. Key stocks included Pacific Smiles, which fell 1.4% following the CEO's resignation announcement, and Woodside Energy, down 0.9% after raising $US2 billion in bonds to fund acquisitions in Texas and Louisiana.

The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 15 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Financials, up 0.8 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Energy, down 1.33 per cent.

The best-performing large cap is Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG), trading 1.77 per cent higher at $223.86. It is followed by shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) and Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL).

The worst-performing large cap is GQG Partners (ASX:GQG), trading 3.75 per cent lower at $2.435. It is followed by shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$2545.00 an ounce.

Iron ore is 1.9 per cent lower at US$90.50 a tonne.

Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.5 per cent fall.

One Australian dollar is buying 67.34 US cents.

Peter Milios

Peter Milios is a recent graduate from the University of Technology - majoring in Finance and Accounting. Peter is currently working under equity research analyst Di Brookman for Corporate Connect Research.

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter?

Would you like to receive our daily news to your inbox?