Australia Market surges 1.2% as tech stocks rally

Australia stock market finished session sharply higher on Friday, 02 February 2024, following a strong rally on Wall Street overnight, with shares in realty and technology companies leading gains.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index declined 92.53 points, or 1.2%, to 7,588.19. The broader All Ordinaries index dropped 94.07 points, or 1.19%, to 7,818.75.

10 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. A-REIT was the best performing sector, gaining +3.37%, followed by information technology (up 3.13%), consumer staples (up 1.69%), and telecommunication services (up 1.64%) issues. Utilities was the worst performing sector, falling 0.41%.

The top performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were PINNACLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP LIMITED and BOSS ENERGY LTD, up 8.62% and 7.95% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were CHALICE MINING and AGL ENERGY, down 7.84% and 4.33% respectively.

 

Shares of real estate investment trusts was the strongest sector on the local bourse as Goodman Group soared 6.2%, Scentre added 2.7% and GPT Group gained 2.4%.

Shares of technology companies surged, with Altium (up 4.5%) leading gains among the biggest large-cap advancers, and WiseTech (up 3.5%) and data centre operator NEXTDC (up 3.1%) also stepping up.

Shares in Pinnacle Investment advanced after the asset manager reported affiliates' funds under management topped $100 billion in December.

Shares in Boss Energy and Paladin Energy spurted after a new uranium price rally, with the spot price nearing 16-year highs.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australian Producer Prices Rise 0.9% in Q4 2023, Slowing from Previous Quarter-Australia's Q4 2023 final demand producer price index rose by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter, slowing from the previous quarter's 1.8% increase. Skilled labor shortages in building construction (+1.9%), rising import prices in motor vehicle manufacturing (+2.4%), and ongoing challenges in heavy engineering construction (+0.6%) were key contributors. Over the year to Q4, producer prices increased by 4.1%, the highest in three quarters.

The value of owner-occupied home loans in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 5.6% on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$16.77 billion. That followed the 0.5% increase in November. Overall home loans slipped 4.1% on month to A$26.27 billion. On a yearly basis, owner-occupied loans rose 7.4%, investment lending surged 20.4% and overall lending was up 11.7%.

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