Aussie markets trades up on the US red wave
Aussie shares traded slightly higher on Thursday, despite a strong rally out of Wall Street on a “red wave” sweeping through the US political system.
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The Australian sharemarket rose slightly on Thursday after investors braced for the impacts of the ‘Trump Trade’ following the US presidential election.
The benchmark ASX 200 index gained 26.8 points or 0.33 per cent, to finish the session at 8226.30 points, although it was trading lower for much of the day.
The broader All Ordinaries rose by 25.60 points, or 0.30 per cent, to close at 8481.60 points.
While the Aussie market was slightly up, it didn’t follow the boom seen in the US where stocks rallied on a red wave which could see a number of tax-friendly business policies introduced.
Sigma Healthcare was the strongest performing share on the ASX200 up 24.67 per cent, while Neuren Pharmaceuticals and Computershare gained 8.52 and 6.10 per cent respectively.
Energy was the best performing sector, gaining 1.88 per cent throughout the day, although oil prices slipped. Overall, five of the 11 sectors traded positively.
Financials were one of the stronger performing sectors up 0.78 per cent during Thursday’s trading.
Three of the major four banks traded higher with Commonwealth Bank lifted 1.24 per cent to notch a fresh record close of $147.26, ANZ added 1.41 per cent up to $31.7 and NAB rose slightly up 0.20 per cent to $39.33.
Westpac was the only major to trade negatively as it fell 2.32 per cent to $31.51, although it was actually good news for shareholders with the price falling because the bank is trading ex-dividend.
Capital.com’s senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said the critical element that led the markets higher was the potential ‘red wave’ hitting the markets with the Republicans controlling both the White House and Congress.
“What this means is effectively (President-elect Donald) Trump will have a clear slate to push through his policy agenda, which means maximum fiscal stimulus and tax cuts,” Mr Rodda said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508.05 points, or 3.57 per cent, to a record close of 43,729.93. The Index of US blue-chip stocks jumped more than 1,000 points for the first time since November 2022 on the Trump election victory.
The S & P 500 also hit an all-time high, up 2.53 per cent to 5,929.04. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.95 per cent to a record of its own of 18,983.47.
The Australian dollar recovered on Thursday from the 3-month low it hit after the election trading to 66 US cents at the close of trading.
InvestorHub CEO and co-founder Ben Williamson said the Trump aspect would have a large impact on volatility but at the moment it was evening out.
“Individual stocks have swings of plus or minus 5 per cent, but it is kind of netting out from a market’s perspective.”
Westgold resources and Bellevue gold were two of the weaker performers on the ASX 200, with the underlying prices of commodities falling due to a stronger US dollar.
Domino’s Pizza continued its slide, down 7.04 per cent today following CEO Don Meij stepping down after four decades with the pizza retailer.
Originally published as Aussie markets trades up on the US red wave
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