The Australian sharemarket rallied on Thursday, buoyed by a positive lead from Wall Street after softer United States job openings data reinforced expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 87.7 points or 1% to 8,826.5, with nine of 11 sectors trading higher.
Financials provided strong support, with Commonwealth Bank up 2.1%, National Australia Bank and Westpac up 2% apiece, and ANZ adding 1.3%.
The Technology sector also gained ground, with Xero jumping 4.8%, WiseTech Global gaining 0.1%, and TechnologyOne up 0.9%.
Consumer Discretionary stocks rose, with JB Hi-Fi adding 0.5%, Wesfarmers up 2.5% and Aristocrat Leisure gaining 0.4%, while Domino’s Pizza lifted 1.4% after chairman Jack Cowin purchased about $5 million worth of shares.
Among individual companies, Austal climbed 4.3% after the shipbuilder said the U.S. Coast Guard’s decision to exercise A$480 million in options on its Offshore Patrol Cutters program was an “important sign of intent”.
Iress surged 7% after announcing that Andrew Russell would succeed Marcus Price as chief executive.
Insurance Australia Group slipped 0.4% after the ACCC warned its proposed acquisition of RAC Insurance from the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia could significantly reduce competition.
Boom Logistics tumbled 2.6% after disclosing that former chief executive Ben Pieyre had misused up to $1 million in company funds.
On the data front, household spending rose 0.5% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, outpacing expectations and lifting annual growth to 5.1% - the strongest since November 2023, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Trade data also beat forecasts, with the surplus widening to A$7.31 billion from June’s A$5.37 billion.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year Australian government bond yields were 0.4% lower at 4.364%, and 3.406%, respectively.
