The local sharemarket climbed higher for the fourth day in a row today following strong leads from Wall Street overnight.
President Trump’s Twitter account holds some major weight on global markets, with one of his tweets setting the tone for the day yet again overnight.
On Tuesday’s session, US stocks fell sharply when the president tweeted he was ending stimulus negotiation talks until after the election. Yesterday, however, Trump said in a surprise tweet that he supported smaller, one-off stimulus for particular sectors to fan the flames of the US economy.
The tweet sparked solid gains from US indexes, and the local benchmark followed suit today. The ASX 200 tacked on 109 per cent, or 65.6 points, to close at 6102 — its highest point since September 3. In fact, this week has seen the best four-day rally in almost six years, with the index putting on 310 points since Monday.
Tech and health care led the charge today, each gaining upwards of two per cent.
In technology, accounting software giant Xero outperformed and closed 5.09 per cent higher. Afterpay gained 2.6 per cent as it edged back towards the $90-per-share mark, while WiseTech gained 3.12 per cent.
In health care, biotech giant CSL gained 2.43 per cent after its subsidiary, Seqiris, signed a final agreement with the Federal Government to supply another COVID-19 vaccine. Hearing aid maker Cochlear gained 5.31 per cent, and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare gained 2.82 per cent.
Our iron ore giants carried the materials sector, with BHP up 2.15 per cent at market close. Rio Tinto gained 1.97 per cent and Fortescue Metals gained 1.61 per cent.
The gold subsector retreated, however, with Newcrest down 0.33 per cent, and St Barbara down 1.63 per cent. Northern Star and Saracen each gained over 12 per cent in two sessions after the announcement of their major merger, but reigned it in a bit. Northern Star gained a muted 0.26 per cent while Saracen lost 0.67 per cent. Evolution managed to shake off the losses and gain 1.37 per cent.
Meanwhile, our big four banks each closed green. Westpac was today’s leader, up 1.46 per cent, with ANZ close behind and up 1.26 per cent. Commonwealth Bank gained 0.8 per cent and NAB gained 0.86 per cent.
With another sell-off only a tweet away, however, there was some after-lunch profit-taking today. The real estate, utilities, and industrials sectors each closed marginally red.
Meanwhile, it’s a mixed day on Asian markets. The Asia Dow is currently up by 0.54 per cent and the Nikkei 225 by 0.96 per cent, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is 0.62 per cent lower. The Shanghai Composite is still on holiday.
The Australian dollar is slightly higher today, currently buying 71.48 US cents, 55.26 pence, and 75.77 Japanese Yen.
Today’s ups and downs
Junior miner Estrella Resources (ASX:ESR) surged today after revealing some impressive drilling results from its Carr Boyd project north of Kalgoorlie. The company reported a 2.9-metre massive nickel-copper sulphide intersection in a diamond core hole, and investors like what they saw. Shares in Estrella have been trading for between one and two cents each for over two years but today skyrocketed 464 per cent to closed at 7.9 cents each.
At the other end of the spectrum, Helix Resources (ASX:HLX) released its own drilling results that sent investors running for the hills. The company reported on assays from 13 of 29 planned holes at its Cobar Gold project in central NSW, but the market was clearly expecting more. Shares in Helix shaved off 30.77 per cent of their value and closed at 0.9 cents each.