Australia’s share market has soared to record heights for a second straight day, shrugging off a weak US session as gold stocks shine.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 50.2 points by midday, up 0.56 per cent, to 9.279.5, as the broader All Ordinaries advanced 53.9 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 9.459.3.
The top-200 hit a fresh intraday record of 9,296.7 in early trade and was on track to top Wednesday’s record close.
The exchange shrugged off a weak Wall Street session and dips across indices in Japan and South Korea as chip stocks sold off, while Australian mining stocks continued to rally on hopes of an imminent US-Iran peace deal.
“Reports suggest the combatants are getting closer to an agreement that could see relations revert to what they were after the first memorandum of understanding,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
“For now, market participants are playing the waiting game, with oil prices practically flat for the (overnight) session amidst the uncertainty.”
Gold investors were done waiting however, as miners and the underlying asset broke out of a recent range as the outlook for global inflation and US interest rates continued to soften.
Spot gold has surged almost five per cent since Wednesday to a seven-week high of $US4,288 ($A6,076) an ounce, lifting the sub-index more than 11 per cent in two sessions.
BHP improved by a more muted 0.6 per cent to $62.90, while Rio Tinto traded flat as copper eased after hitting a fresh high overnight.
Fortescue jumped 1.3 per cent, despite iron ore futures lingering below $US94 a tonne.
The energy sector tipped roughly 0.3 per cent lower as Woodside, Santos, Ampol and Viva handed back some recent gains as crude supply fears eased.
Financials gained 0.3 per cent, the segment trading near all-time-highs as the big four banks resumed their recent uptrend, bolstered by resilient household spending and market bets the Reserve Bank will hold the cash rate at 4.35 next week.
Consumer discretionaries have also benefited from the recent sentiment shift, up 0.7 per cent on Wednesday and rebounding more than 25 per cent from May lows.
Technology stocks lagged the broader market, easing one per cent after an eight-session, 16 per cent rally.
In company news, earnings season is picking up pace, with News Corp, REA Group and AMP shares all improving on the back of strong results.
Mining giant Glencore is aiming for a secondary listing on the ASX in October, following its failed merger with Rio Tinto. Glencore is currently listed on the London Stock Exchange.
CommBank has appointed Julie Coates to its board as an independent non-executive director.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.57 US cents, up from 70.49 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm AEST.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
