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The ASX200 is set to rise just above one percent on Friday, boosted by a rally on Wall Street, itself based on strong US employment and consumer data which eased concerns about the country’s economy.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq marked 6-day winning streaks, rising 1.6% and 2.4% each, and the Dow Jones increased by 555 points.
US retail sales data came in better-than-expected, with a rise of 1% in July – much better than the expected 0.3% increase. A reading for jobless data showed that weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest level since early July, adding further encouragement.
Over on the ASX, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) said its unaudited cash earnings for the third quarter of 2024 were $1.75 billion – registering almost no change (0.2%) from the quarterly average for the first half of 2024.
CEO Andrew Irvine said asset quality had deteriorated further in the third quarter of the year, mainly driven by the inflationary pressures affecting the economy, and he added that the bank was aiming to cut costs by $400 million across the whole 2024 financial year.
Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX:DHG) was also reporting, and said its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for the financial year had come in at $137.1 million – a rise of 26.2% compared to the previous year.
The company also noted that its revenue per listing had also increased by 18%.
Finally, Auric Mining Ltd (ASX:AWJ) told the market it had made gold sales topping $6.3 million in August, and was on schedule to process 300,000 tonnes at Greenfields Mill in 2024 overall.
In forex, one Australian dollar is buying 66 US cents.
Gold rose nearly a quarter of a percent to US$2454.87
Iron Ore fell one and a quarter percent to $99.20 a tonne.
Brent Crude is at US$80.79 a barrel and natural gas is at $2.21 a gigajoule.
