ASX closes higher after Wall Street see-saw; Lithium stocks jump again

Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day.

The numbers

The Australian sharemarket finished stronger on Thursday after US stock indexes recovered from big early drops to finish higher overnight, led by a small group of influential big tech companies.

The S&P/ASX200 closed up, gaining 87.80 points or 1.1 per cent to 8,075.70. All 11 sectors ended the day firmly in the green, led by information technology, energy and real estate stocks.

Wall Street had a roller-coaster session.Credit: AP

The lifters

Mineral Resources was the best performer of the large caps, leaping 8.3 per cent on top of Wednesday’s 16 per cent jump, while fellow lithium miners Pilbara Minerals (up 7.9 per cent) and Liontown Resources (up 3.6 per cent) were also higher again. Lithium stocks globally jumped overnight on speculation Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology halted production at a major mine, easing oversupply concerns for the material.

Among the other mining giants BHP was the only loser, down 1.4 per cent as its shares started trading without the right to its latest dividend. Rivals Fortescue (up 2.2 per cent) and Rio Tinto (up 1.9 per cent) both tracked up.

Logistics software developer WiseTech led the charge in the information technology sector, up 3.5 per cent, following the strong lead from the US tech giants overnight. The big four banks all advanced, led by ANZ, up 1.5 per cent at $31.30 a share.

The Aussie dollar was buying US66.90¢ at the close.

The laggards

Lab testing company ALS Ltd was the biggest large cap laggard, down 1.9 per cent, followed by investment group GQG partners, and packaging group Amcor, down 1.4 per cent.

Nine Entertainment (the publisher of this masthead) dropped 2.8 per cent after chief executive Mike Sneesby announced his resignation after three and a half years, following what he described as a “challenging” year.

Finance chief Matt Stanton has been appointed interim CEO amid the search for a successor.

The lowdown

IG Australia market analyst Tony Sycamore said the ASX had closed at its highest level since the start of the month after a “stunning turnaround” on Wall Street, finally “breaking free of the 8000 level that has acted like a magnet over the past week.”

In the US overnight, the S&P 500 rallied 1.1 per cent after erasing a morning wipeout of 1.6 per cent, during which almost every stock within the index had been falling. Most of the index’s stocks still finished lower for the day, but the strong performances by AI giant Nvidia and other tech stocks were enough to drive it to a third straight gain and back within 2 per cent of its all-time high set in July.

Sycamore said Wednesday’s presidential debate had also added to positive sentiment.

“While a Trump administration is seen as slightly more favourable for equities, Kamala Harris’ strong debate showing, which boosted her odds in the betting markets, has contributed to easing election-related jitters,” he said.

The Dow Jones rose by 124 points, or 0.3 per cent, after rallying back from a drop of 743 points. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.2 per cent.

Investors are increasingly looking to next week, when the Fed is expected to cut its main interest rate, which would be the first such cut in more than four years. Bets are the Fed will begin with only a traditional-sized move of a quarter of a percentage point instead of the more severe half-point that some had been expecting.

Tweet of the day

Quote of the day

“Despite the intensity of the scrutiny, my focus has not wavered from achieving the best outcomes for our people and for Nine,” said Nine Entertainment chief executive Mike Sneesby as he announced he would leave at the end of the month after three and a half years in charge.

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with AP, Bloomberg

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