Australian shares surged on Friday, mirroring gains on Wall Street after positive US jobless claims data eased recession fears. At 11:35am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 1.04 per cent higher at 7,761.70, with technology stocks leading the charge. Life360 soared 17.5% following strong earnings, while News Corp rose on Foxtel sale plans. Conversely, insurance giant QBE declined 3% despite doubling profits. The Australian dollar strengthened, approaching US66 cents.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 57 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the black. The best-performing sector is Information Technology, up 3.11 per cent. The sector with the fewest gains is Consumer Discretionary, up 0.59 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is REA Group (ASX:REA), trading 4.57 per cent higher at $198.18. It is followed by shares in Cochlear (ASX:COH) and CAR Group (ASX:CAR).
The worst-performing large cap is QBE Insurance Group (ASX:QBE), trading 3.37 per cent lower at $15.78. It is followed by shares in Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY) and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2462.70 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.3 per cent lower at US$99.30 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.1 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.94 US cents.