Australia’s share market is on track for its best weekly performance since July, shrugging off a Wall Street slump as local bank stocks continue their comeback.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 94.3 points by midday, up 1.06 per cent, to 8986.4, as the broader All Ordinaries improved by 89.2 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 9101.8.
The heavyweight financials sector provided much of the momentum, as investors sought safety in Australia’s banks after US tech earnings raised questions about artificial intelligence’s projected returns.
“Wall Street turned decidedly sour as investors penalised tech heavyweights for aggressive spending and elusive pay-offs,” Moomoo chief market strategist Tapas Strickland said.
“Google parent Alphabet suffered its steepest single-day decline in company history, tumbling 12.6 per cent.”
CommBank was the best of the big four banks, up 1.6 per cent to $169 per share.
There were signs of institutional buying across much of the market, with blue-chip names like Wesfarmers, Woolworths, and Transurban receiving healthy share price injections.
Origin was another strong performer, but its more than two per cent push came after its revenue soared in the first quarter on the back of strong LNG prices.
Coles was a notable exception, tumbling almost seven per cent top $21.85 after its $11.2 billion first-quarter sales disappointed investors.
The energy sector climbed 0.9 per cent despite a continued retreat in oil prices after reports US officials were seeking talks with Iran.
Again, bigger names in the segment were finding buyers, with Woodside, Santos, Yancoal and New Hope Corporation providing most of the support.
Mining stocks were heavy, coming into a second session of losses after rebounding earlier in the week.
BHP traded flat at $57.52, while Rio and Fortescue lost ground as copper prices reversed and iron ore futures lingered just below $US91 a barrel.
Precious metals producers were also under pressure, as spot gold eased to $US4004 ($5699) an ounce.
Consumer cyclicals have rebounded strongly with a 2.5 per cent advance, helping it recoup some of the previous four sessions’ losses.
Bitcoin has tumbled more than 5.5 per cent in the past two days to $US77,000 ($A109,605) after a suspected hack at major cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
In company news, sleep device maker Resmed’s revenue lifted six per cent in the September quarter to $US418 million ($595 million), beating out forecasts.
Reece also posted strong results, with the plumbing goods supplier’s shares jumping almost 10 per cent after first-quarter sales of $2.5 billion, up 4.3 per cent on the equivalent quarter.
Star Entertainment shares are trading 3.5 per cent higher after the casino group came out of a trading halt, following reports its $260 million Federal Court fine for money laundering obligation breaches will be paid off in instalments.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.26 US cents, down from 70.47 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
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