ASX resets record as property, tech rally; gold stocks climb

A sharp rally in interest rate sensitive technology and real estate stocks helped push the Australian sharemarket to a fresh record on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.7 per cent, or 58.6 points, to 8057.9 at the closing bell, with all 11 sectors in the green. The gauge also hit a fresh intraday record of 8081.6 points at around midday before paring some of those gains in afternoon trade.

The All Ordinaries added 0.7 per cent with investors taking their cues from a buoyant US sharemarket.

“The timing and speed of the move have likely caught some investors by surprise,” said IG analyst Tony Sycamore. “We expect the ASX 200 to be well-supported on dips between 8000 and 7900 [points].”

Property stocks were among the best performing, rallying 1.5 per cent. Goodman increased 1.2 per cent to $36.67, Scentre jumped 1.8 per cent to $3.34 and Charter Hall rose 1.8 per cent to $12.83.

Gold climbs

The information technology sector also recorded gains, advancing 1.2 per cent. WiseTech added 3.3 per cent to $99.69 and Life360 firmed 1.8 per cent to $17.01.

That’s after strong gains on Wall Street with the Dow Jones jumping 1.9 per cent to close at a record high of 40,954.48 overnight on increasing expectations of imminent rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve.

ASX gold miners tracked the higher gold price with spot bullion climbing as high as $US2469.66 an ounce, moving past the previous all-time peak set in May. Shares of West African Resources climbed 3 per cent to $1.54, Northern Star Resources added 3.4 per cent to $14.44 and Bellevue Gold rose 1.9 per cent to $1.90.

All the major banks also finished higher, with index heavyweight Commonwealth Bank up 0.8 per cent to $133.50. National Australia Bank climbed 1 per cent to $37.77, Westpac added 1 per cent to $28.48 and ANZ rose 0.6 per cent to $29.97.

Across the ditch, New Zealand’s inflation slowed more than forecast to its weakest in three years in the second quarter, raising the prospect of lower borrowing costs this year.

The annual inflation rate fell to 3.3 per cent from 4 per cent in the first quarter, missing economist expectations of 3.4 per cent while the Reserve Bank had forecast 3.6 per cent.

The RBNZ held the official cash rate at 5.5 per cent last week but surprised markets by saying tight monetary policy may be curbing demand “more strongly than expected”.

Stocks in focus

Star Entertainment advanced 2 per cent to 50.5¢. The casino operator switched on all its electronic gaming machines and tables again after shutting them due to system performance issues.

BHP slipped 0.9 per cent lower to $42.70 even as it reached its 2024 production guidance for all commodities. The mining giant sold record volumes of local iron ore over the past year.

Online luxury retailer Cettire sank 4 per cent to $1.44 after shares initially rallied when it confirmed gross revenue would be between $975 million and $980 million for the 12 months ending June 30.

And buy now, pay later operator Zip Co was placed in a trading halt. The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column first reported that the company was looking to raise $267 million to help pay down debt. The shares last traded at $1.605 apiece.