Australian shares touched an all-time high on Friday, as optimism around the US Federal Reserve’s oversized interest rate cut overshadowed concerns about a domestic jobs report pointing to a longer wait for the local central bank’s easing.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.6% at a record peak of 8,243.3, as of 00:40 GMT, and on track to a seventh straight session of gains.
Earlier this week, the Fed announced a bigger-than-usual half-percentage-point cut, and indicated more rate cuts were on the horizon, sending Wall Street to record highs on Thursday.
Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 522.09 points, or 1.26%, at 42,025.19 points. The S&P 500 gained 95.38 points, or 1.70% while Nasdaq gained 440.68 points, or 2.51%.
In Australia, data on Thursday showed employment surged beyond expectations in August, further tempering hopes of the Reserve Bank of Australia to start cutting rates at its monetary policy meeting next week.
Miners led gains on Friday, climbing 0.9%, as iron ore prices firmed on stimulus hopes from top consumer China. Mining goliaths BHP Group and Rio Tinto both jumped 0.7%.
Financials were up 0.6%, with all of the ‘Big Four’ banks rising between 0.3% and 0.6%.
Australian shares hit record high as Fed cuts rate; local jobs data in focus
The sub-index hit a record high earlier in the session.
Energy companies and gold stocks gained 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively, on stronger underlying prices.
Information technology firms tracked their US peers up 0.9% to a record high, while healthcare sector was up 0.2%.
Myer Holdings tanked 9%, as the retailer posted lower annual profit and cut its dividend by half.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4% to 12,613.72.
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