At 11:35am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.37 per cent higher at 8,130.20, buoyed by a rally on Wall Street driven by gains in tech and gold stocks.
US stocks surged on Friday amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this week, with markets anticipating a possible 50 basis point cut.
On the ASX, gold miners saw significant gains, with Evolution Mining rising 4 per cent and West African Resources up 3.3 per cent. BHP and Rio Tinto also edged higher among blue chips, while ANZ was the only major bank to decline. Online retailer Cettire fell 6 per cent due to potential changes in US duty thresholds, whereas Alcoa jumped nearly 6 per cent after announcing a $1.6 billion sale to Saudi Arabian Mining Company.
Defence shipbuilder Austal surged 5.8 per cent following a $450 million contract, and property giant Lendlease rose 0.5 per cent after completing a significant sale. Qube Holdings and Chorus dropped as they traded ex-dividend, and Auckland Airport went on trading halt due to a $1.3 billion equity raise for capital investment.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 29 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is REITs, up 0.86 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Health Care, down 0.6 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), trading 4.4 per cent higher at $4.51. It is followed by shares in Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN).
The worst-performing large cap is Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX), trading 4.33 per cent lower at $18.23. It is followed by shares in Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2609.40 an ounce.
Iron ore is 2.1 per cent lower at US$92.65 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.08 US cents.