Australian shares rose on Thursday following a record-breaking session on Wall Street, fuelled by Canada’s central bank lowering its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent.
Investor attention turned to the European Central Bank, with anticipation of a potential 25 basis points rate cut from 4 per cent to 3.75 per cent on Thursday night AEDT.
US shares surged to record highs, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.2 per cent to 5354.03, marking its 25th record high in 2024, while the Nasdaq also set a new record, jumping 2 per cent. Notable movements included Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) reaching a record high of $125.97 before closing 1.12 per cent higher at $124.85. The local tech sector was the best performer, with WiseTech (ASX:WTC) advancing 2.83 per cent to $100.22, while Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) dropped 0.32 per cent to $122.53.
Magellan Financial (ASX:MFG) saw a 1.32 per cent rally to $8.45 as funds under management increased to $36.7 billion at the end of May. Bond markets witnessed the yield on the US 10-year note falling below 4.30 per cent, reflecting market speculation on potential US interest rate cuts.
In commodities, iron ore slipped 0.3 per cent to US$107.10 a tonne amid uncertain Chinese demand, while gold rose 0.5 per cent to US$2367 an ounce.
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.68 per cent higher at 7,821.80.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 22 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 1.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 5.75 points.
The SPI futures are up 52 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the black. The best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 1.41 per cent. The sector with the fewest gains was Energy, up 0.01 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), closing 6.59 per cent higher at $6.31. It was followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and GQG Partners (ASX:GQG).
The worst-performing large cap was SEEK (ASX:SEK), closing 2.78 per cent lower at $23.12. It was followed by shares in Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation (ASX:FPH) and Spark New Zealand (ASX:SPK).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has gained 0.55 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.10 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 1.96 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,385.30 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.4 per cent lower at US$106.35 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.84 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.41 higher at US$74.48 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.54 US cents.