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The ASX 200 posted another all-time high on Thursday, closing up +0.5% after flirting with the psychological 9200 level in the morning. IT stocks led gains, with the sector surging +5.2% amid a broad-based rally that saw 7 of 11 sectors trade higher. Health care rebounded 1.6% following recent weakness, supported by a strong interim result from Ramsay Health Care. The miners again provided meaningful support, rising 1.0% and pushing to fresh highs as BHP extended its record run, trading above $58 for the first time – even after closing 50c below its intra-day high Australia’s biggest stock added more than 20 points to the index, or more than 40% of the day’s gain.
Reporting season is slowly coming to its conclusion, but it’s not going to go quietly, delivering further significant moves on Thursday as investors voted with both feet in one way or the other. Over 10% of the main board advanced by more than 5%, while only six companies retreated by the same degree. The combination of earnings beats and a resurgent tech sector dominated the winners’ enclosure. While individual stocks and sectors are experiencing varying waves of buying and selling, the underlying path of least resistance is increasingly on the upside.
- A “risk on” tone has crept into the market over recent sessions, with the defensives looking heavy while the high beta growth names bounce, at least for a while.
Overseas markets were mixed overnight in the week’s penultimate session. In Europe, the EURO STOXX 50 slipped by 0.2%, whereas the UK FTSE advanced +0.4%. In the US, a more than 5% fall by Nvidia dragged the tech-based NASDAQ down 1.2% while the Dow closed marginally higher, supported by the value stocks.
- The SPI Futures are calling the ASX200 to open slightly higher, which feels optimistic with profit taking evident in the miners overnight.
