What's Affecting Markets Today
Asia-Pacific Markets Mixed as Tech Rally Lifts Japan and Australia
Asia-Pacific equities delivered a mixed performance on Thursday, with Japan and Australia leading gains after a strong overnight tech rally on Wall Street, while China and Hong Kong lagged amid persistent economic concerns.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.56 per cent, driven by robust buying in technology shares. SoftBank Group surged more than 6 per cent, while Fujikura advanced 6.04 per cent and Nvidia supplier Advantest added 4.63 per cent. Losses in Nidec, which plunged over 22 per cent following the launch of a probe into improper accounting, capped some of the upside. The broader Topix Index still gained 0.94 per cent.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.96 per cent after data showed household spending climbed 0.5 per cent month-on-month in July, following June’s 0.3 per cent rise. On an annual basis, spending grew 5.1 per cent, its fastest pace since November 2023, supported by higher demand across health, transport and services.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.14 per cent, while the Kosdaq gained 1.04 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.21 per cent and China’s CSI 300 dropped 2.47 per cent. India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.41 per cent and the Sensex added 0.64 per cent.
ASX Stocks
ASX 200 8,826.50 (+1.00%)
ASX Rallies; Domino’s Jumps on Chairman’s $5m Buy
The Australian sharemarket rebounded on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 0.6 per cent, or 54.7 points, to 8793.5 by midday AEST. The recovery followed Wall Street’s rally, driven by weak US job openings that strengthened expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. US tech stocks led the charge, with Alphabet and Apple climbing after a favourable court ruling preserved their search partnership, while Fed governor Christopher Waller flagged the likelihood of a September cut if economic data continues to soften.
Locally, the big four banks powered the advance: Commonwealth Bank gained 1.9 per cent, Westpac 2 per cent, NAB 1.8 per cent, and ANZ 1.5 per cent. The tech sector also performed strongly, with Xero up 4 per cent and Block higher by 1 per cent.
Among individual movers, Domino’s Pizza surged 4.8 per cent after chairman Jack Cowin purchased $5 million worth of shares. Iress jumped 6.7 per cent on a CEO appointment, Austal rose 3.4 per cent on a US Coast Guard contract, while Woodside and Santos slipped as oil prices eased.
Leaders
IRE Iress Ltd (+6.97%)
EOS Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd (+6.22%)
DYL Deep Yellow Ltd (+5.80%)
NEU Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (+5.16%)
CSC Capstone Copper Corp (+5.06%)
Laggards
CYL Catalyst Metals Ltd (-10.93%)
PNR Pantoro Gold Ltd (-7.33%)
MP1 Megaport Ltd (-6.34%)
PDI Predictive Discovery Ltd (-4.74%)
SNL Supply Network Ltd (-3.73%)
Join our JTrader Daily Newsletter! Share Trading Made Simple. Rule #1 : Buy stocks that are going UP!
Get our 5 best Stocks that are going Up, sent to your inbox before every trading day!