The Australian sharemarket clinched a new record high as the local bulls closed the session 1.1 per cent or 78 points higher at 7,386 fuelled by mining giants.
The gains were across the board with Energy and Materials as the biggest winners while Healthcare fell behind as the outlier, down 0.3 per cent. The oil price surge of 4.5 per cent overnight helped powered energy stocks.
US electric car maker Tesla inked a deal to use Aussie nickel to power electric vehicles which sent BHP climbed 3.1 per cent to a record high at $51.45 according to sources at Bloomberg. Rio Tinto added 1.2 per cent to $127.41.
Lithium miners fared well today with Orocobre climbed 9.9 per cent while Pilbara Minerals rose 10.1 per cent and Lynas Rare Earths, up 9 per cent. Iluka Resources jumped 7.2 per cent on news of a 40 per cent jump in mineral sands production in their quarterly update.
The local bourse took the high road shaking off Covid woes after its sharp sell-off at the start of the week.
Despite the winning streak, a couple of laggards couldn’t offset the XJO. Biotech giant CSL dropped 0.3 per cent, tech star Afterpay also dipped 0.3 per cent though Zip Co tumbled 7.8 per cent.
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 1.1 per cent or 78 points higher at 7,386.
Local economic newsABS has released international trade figures for June. Exports of goods in June 2021 increased 8 per cent to $41,287 million. Imports of goods in June 2021 also increased 8 per cent to $28,015 million.
Company newsJoin me at Stocks of the Hour
here.
Australia’s largest gold miner Newcrest Mining
(ASX:NCM) saw a bright June quarter after gold output rose 6 per cent at an all-in-sustaining-cost (AISC) of US$797 per ounce, US$96 lower compared to the March quarter.
Wireless technology company Etherstack
(ASX:ESK) have inked a $11.6 million deal with Samsung for 5-years.
Zircon and titanium player Iluka Resources
(ASX:ILU) celebrates a 40 per cent jump in mineral sands production in the second quarter.
Buy-now-pay-later star, Zip Co
(ASX:Z1P) released its forth quarter trading update posting record figures mainly across the board. Despite a 13 per cent jump in revenue from the March quarter, other metrics are letting this fintech company down.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 30 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 3 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 12 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 67 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Energy, up 2.5 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Healthcare, down 0.3 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS), closing 10.1 per cent higher at $1.69. It was followed by shares in Orocobre
(ASX:ORE) and Lynas Rare Earths
(ASX:LYC).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Zip Co
(ASX:Z1P), closing 7.8 per cent lower at $6.99. It was followed by shares in Kogan.com
(ASX:KGN) and Omni Bridgeway
(ASX:OBL).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei is flat.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 1.7 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.3 per cent.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1798.79 an ounce.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 5.90 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.04 lower at US$70.26 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.63 US cents.
