The Australian share market surged today, buoyed by Wall Street’s recovery following recent inflation data. This strengthened expectations of potential US interest rate cuts. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.86% to 7,989.60, with technology and energy sectors leading the gains. While today’s session was positive, upcoming Australian inflation data and US tech earnings could introduce market volatility in the coming days.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 147 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 24 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 133.25 points.
The SPI futures are up 71 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the black. The best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 1.53 per cent. The sector with the fewest gains was Materials, up 0.33 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG), closing 3.29 per cent higher at $4.71. It was followed by shares in REA Group (ASX:REA) and James Hardie Industries plc (ASX:JHX).
The worst-performing large cap was Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), closing 2.18 per cent lower at $7.63. It was followed by shares in ResMed (ASX:RMD) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has gained 2.14 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 1.55 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 1.03 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,393.10 an ounce.
Iron ore is 2.3 per cent higher at US$101.95 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.13 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.43 higher at US$77.59 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.55 US cents.