The Australian sharemarket began on a positive note amidst concerns of prolonged higher interest rates, with Apple’s stock surging over 7% in after-hours trading and local tech companies such as Pro Medicus reaching record highs. Concurrently, Wall Street displayed upward momentum following Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s statement, signaling optimism as he hinted at fewer anticipated interest rate hikes.
At 11:30am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.53 per cent higher at 7,627.10.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 32 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Consumer Discretionary, up 1.61 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Financials, up 0.18 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is GQG Partners (ASX:GQG), trading 3.83 per cent higher at $2.44. It is followed by shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and NEXTDC (ASX:NXT).
The worst-performing large cap is Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), trading 4.43 per cent lower at $3.775. It is followed by shares in Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2312.60 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.81 US cents.