ASX moves higher, led by tech and consumer stocks
The Australian sharemarket rose for the fourth consecutive session but lost its early momentum by lunchtime, as falling commodity prices overnight weighed down mining and energy stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 was up 17.4 points, or 0.21 per cent, about 12.15pm. Eight out of 11 sectors traded higher, with tech stocks (up 1 per cent) leading the pack.
The sharemarket is tipped to rise in 2025, buoyed by hopes of an early rate cut by the RBA.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Consumer discretionary stocks were also up 0.8 per cent, as traders bet on improving consumer sentiment as a new ANZ-Roy Morgan survey released on Tuesday showed consumer confidence jumped 3.6 points in the first week of the new year. ANZ economist Madeline Dunk said tax cuts, rising real wages and an interest rate cut expected in May would continue to boost disposable income.
Aristocrat Leisure (up 3 per cent) was among the best performing large-caps, while Premier Investments also jumped 2 per cent. Breville Group rose 0.4 per cent, but Wesfarmers (the owner of Kmart and Bunnings) fell 0.6 per cent, JB Hi-Fi declined 0.4 per cent and Harvey Norman was down 0.5 per cent.
Qantas (up 3 per cent), Hub24 (up 2.8 per cent), Lynas Rare Earths (up 2.7 per cent) and CAR Group (up 2.6 per cent) rounded out the top five large-cap advancers.
Miners and oil producers were among the worst performers on the ASX at midday after commodity prices fell overnight. Iron ore was down l 1.2 per cent to $US97 ($155) a tonne, Brent crude slumped 0.7 per cent to $US76 a barrel, and spot gold declined 0.2 per cent to $US2635.63/oz.
Meridian Energy (down 3.8 per cent) was the weakest large-cap stock, followed by Fortescue (down 3.2 per cent), Insurance Australia Group (down 2.3 per cent) and AGL (down 2.15 per cent).
Wealth manager Insignia Financial, which jumped 14.7 per cent on Monday after receiving a non-binding $2.9 billion takeover proposal from private equity firm CC Capital Partners, slightly fell at the session’s open but was trading 0.6 per cent higher to $4.09 at midday.
Morningstar equity analyst Shaun Ler said the bid indicated Insignia was undervalued and its earnings outlook was brighter compared to the last financial year. It has lifted its “fair value estimate” from $3.60 to $3.95 per share.
