Good afternoon and welcome to the ASX Today. The Australian share market pushed to another record high on Thursday, with optimism over progress towards reopening the Strait of Hormuz helping lift investor sentiment ahead of a busy earnings season next week.
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The ASX 200 was up 0.4 per cent at lunchtime after earlier touching a fresh all-time intraday high.
Markets looked through a mixed night on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones finished higher but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped as Alphabet and SpaceX came under pressure. Investors also weighed hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, who said she would support another interest rate rise if inflation remains elevated.
Locally, materials led the market after copper prices hit fresh record highs and gold extended its strongest rally in six months. BHP gained 0.7 per cent, Fortescue rose 1.6 per cent, while Rio Tinto edged lower after Glencore confirmed plans to pursue a secondary ASX listing following failed merger talks earlier this year.
Energy stocks remained under pressure despite Brent crude recovering towards US$77 a barrel. Woodside and Santos both traded lower as markets continued to monitor developments surrounding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Technology stocks also weakened after the overnight sell-off in US growth names filtered through to the local market, with WiseTech Global and Life360 both trading lower.
In company news, REA Group climbed after reporting an 11 per cent increase in full-year revenue. AMP jumped after delivering a 57 per cent rise in half-year profit and announcing a $150 million share buyback.
Beach Energy slipped after reporting a 21 per cent decline in full-year underlying profit, while Block also traded lower despite beating market expectations with its latest US earnings.
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