The Australian sharemarket reached a new all-time high as inflation cooled more than anticipated in the December quarter, prompting a risk-on rally among traders. The S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.1% to close at 7680.7 points, surpassing the previous record set in August 2021. The market rally was led by interest-rate sensitive sectors, such as utilities and real estate, as expectations for future RBA rate cuts grew due to the inflation data.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 21 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 18.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 139.75 points.
The SPI futures are up 69 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the black. The best-performing sector was REITs, up 1.98 per cent. The sector with the fewest gains was Communication Services, up 0.25 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), closing 4.83 per cent higher at $6.30. It was followed by shares in Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) and Steadfast Group (ASX:SDF).
The worst-performing large cap was IGO (ASX:IGO), closing 2.20 per cent lower at $7.55. It was followed by shares in Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) and REA Group (ASX:REA).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has gained 0.06 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 1.01 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 0.76 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,052.30 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.9 per cent lower at US$134.80 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.21 lower at US$77.61 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.69 US cents.