The Australian sharemarket advanced at the open following an extended rally in New York on expectations that the Federal Reserve may have more room to lower interest rates this year.
Investors have their attention on the Reserve Bank's cash rate decision today at 2.30pm AEST . It will then be followed by a press conference by governor Michele Bullock.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8 per cent, or by 57.6 points to 7740 at the opening bell, buoyed by sharp gains in mining and utilities stocks.
The utilities sector was the best performing sector, led by sector heavyweight AGL Energy. The energy provider upgraded its profit guidance for financial year 2024, forecasting underlying earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation to be between the range of $2120 million and $2200 million.
In commodities, mining stocks tracked a higher iron ore price as the steel making commodity rose 2 per cent in Singapore, nearing $US120 a tonne. BHP rallied 1.2 per cent.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 1 per cent to 5180.7. Nvidia leapt 3.8 per cent, rising above $US920 to its highest since late March.
"This bull market is still quite young," Carson Group strategist Ryan Detrick said in a post on X. Looking at the past 12 bull markets showed the average is just over 60 months, compared with the current 19-month expansion.
Equities have had their best three-day rally since November, according to Bloomberg.
Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, said based on a backdrop of bullish market breadth and improving momentum, a close above the 50-day moving average would be a good sign for the pullback being over.
Turnquist said if the S&P 500 holds above April's early lows in the 5150 area, the next resistance hurdle would be the March high of 5254.
Stocks on the move
ANZ dropped 1.4 per cent after reporting a 7 per cent decline in cash profit at $3.55 billion in its first half results. The major bank also announced a $2 billion share buyback and declared its proposed interim dividend at 83 per share, partially franked at 65 per cent.
Global agriculture merchant Louis Dreyfus has increased its takeover offer for Namoi Cotton to 67 a share. It previously lobbed its bid for the company at 60 a share. Namoi added 2.1 per cent.
Shares in Sims slumped 9 per cent after issuing a major profit warning. Broker RBC Capital said the ASX listed company would miss guidance by 90 per cent.
HMC Capital rallied over 7 per cent after the alternative asset manager said in a Macquarie conference presentation that its operating earnings per share for financial year 2024 was tracking 21 per cent higher at 40.
Sumber : afr.com
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