ASX rises 1.4 per cent after US share rebound

The Aussie sharemarket surged on Thursday, thanks to new data and led by the major banks and information technology stocks.

The Australian sharemarket finished strongly in the green on Thursday, after better-than-expected inflation data in the US and strong job figures domestically.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rallied 113.7 points or 1.38 per cent to 8327 points, while the broader All Ordinaries rose by 112.3 points or 1.33 per cent to 8569.1 points.

The Australian dollar fell to US61.99c.

The ASX 200 soared in a broad market rally. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Australia’s strong rebound came off the back of Wall Street having its best day since November due to core inflation in the US softening to 3.2 per cent in December – beating expectations of a 3.3 per cent rise.

The Dow Jones added more than 700 points or 1.65 per cent to 43,211.55, while the S & P 500 jumped 107 points or 1.83 per cent to 5949.91. The tech heavy Nasdaq surged 466.84 points or 2.45 per cent to 19,511.23.

Domestically, Australia’s official unemployment rate rose to 4.0 in December, up from 3.9 per cent in November.

While this is a marginal increase in the unemployment rate, overall Australia’s unemployment rate remains remarkably low, and under the 4.3 per cent the RBA had forecast.

Australia’s job data beat market expectations Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

AMP deputy chief economist Diana Mousina said employment rose by 56,300 in December, well above market expectations of a 15,000 lift.

“Annual employment growth is running at 3.1 per cent, its highest level since October 2023 as the pace of jobs growth started rising again in mid-2024,” she said.

“Jobs growth has held up because migration inflows have remained high, so the flow of new entrants (or new supply) into the labour force has been elevated.

“But these new entrants are still being matched to a job, so jobs demand is also holding up.”

All sectors finished in the green, with Neuren Pharmaceuticals up 11.5 per cent to $12.28, while Zip surged 9.96 per cent to $3.09 and Corporate Travel Management up 6.84 per cent to $14.05, to be the major winners on Thursday

Zip had a strong day following a positive broker note from Citi equity analyst Siraj Ahmed, who said there were positives in the stock based on an earnings update by US rival Sezzle.

Zip’s buy now, pay later peer and competitor in the US, Sezzle, upgraded its revenue guidance to exceed 55 per cent year on year growth in 2024, citing “exceptional holiday demand”, Mr Ahmed’s note said.

Overall the market was led by financials, trading 2.56 per cent higher.

CBA led the way up 2.96 per cent to $155,75, followed by a jump in NAB shares up 2.81 per cent to $38.45, ANZ which soared 2.71 per cent to $299.98 and finally Westpac which grew 2.51 per cent to $32.66.

Mineral Resources and Domino’s Pizza were some of few companies that finished in the red on Tuesday.

Mineral resources is trading down 2.014 per cent to $26.010 while Domino’s Pizza fell 2.02 per cent to $28.88.

Originally published as ASX rises 1.4 per cent after US share rebound