Mining and energy stocks lifted the ASX towards a third straight gain following overnight rebounds in crude oil and bulk metals.
The S&P/ASX 200 rallied 29 points or 0.39 percent by mid-session. The advance put the index on track for a winning week and the highest close in a month.
Woodside Petroleum, Santos and the big three iron ore producers rose after commodity markets resumed their uptrend. Declines in CSL, Wesfarmers and most of the banks capped the advance.
What’s driving the market
Commodity markets rallied overnight after Russia hosed down expectations negotiations with Ukraine could produce a ceasefire within days. Crude oil jumped back above US$100 a barrel. Natural gas, wheat, gold and most industrial metals also rallied.
“Comments from a Kremlin spokesman that a report of major progress was “wrong” sparked a wave of buying as fears of further disruptions to Russia crude oil exports rose,” ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.
“Those fears were exacerbated after US President Joe Biden branded the Russia President Vladimir Putin a war criminal’. This comes after the International Energy Agency said that Russian oil output may slump by 3mb/d by April.”
The ASX energy sector took the lead, mirroring the sector’s outperformance on Wall Street overnight. US stocks rose after the Federal Reserve bolstered confidence in the economy by mapping out a series of aggressive rate increases this year.
The Dow and S&P 500 climbed 1.23 percent to a third gain. The Nasdaq Composite put on 1.33 percent.
“The share market cheered easing concerns around the prospects of Russian bond default after investors receive foreign-debt payments,” Kunal Sawhney, CEO of research group Kalkine, said.
“Russia managed to keep a potential sovereign default at bay by paying a $117 million interest order on dollar-denominated sovereign bonds. The Russian payment news surprised the share market to the upside, offering some relief to investors.”
Canada‘s resources-driven stock market hit an all-time high. The S&P/TSX Composite rallied 1.4 percent. Energy and mining companies make up around a third of the Canadian benchmark, compared to 27.5 percent for the ASX. Canada’s substantial financial sector has been boosted by rate increases on both sides of the border.
Going up
Woodside Petroleum climbed 3.08 percent to a four-session high as traders speculated this week’s reversal in crude may have run its course. Beach Energy tacked on 2.59 percent. Santos added 2.16 percent.
Uranium miner Paladin Energy climbed 9.55 percent. The price of uranium has jumped around 40 percent since Russia invaded Ukraine. Berkeley Energia gained 10.62 percent, Toro Energy 10.53 percent and Bannerman Energy 9.78 percent.
AVZ Minerals climbed 5.33 percent, Liontown Resources 5.62 percent and Lynas Rare Earths 3.81 percent. At the heavyweight end, Fortescue Metals put on 1.76 percent, Rio Tinto 2.04 percent and BHP 1.4 percent.
Vulcan Energy climbed 5.85 percent to a five-week high after updating shareholders on its Zero Carbon Lithium project in Germany. The miner intends to start commissioning a demo plant by mid-year and finalise a detailed feasibility study by the second half of the year.
Beaten-up growth stocks rallied after JPMorgan’s influential stock guru Marko Kolanovic said it was time to buy. Unprofitable “innovation stocks” have fallen up to 80 percent in the US since Kolanovic forecast a correction last year.
“We think it is time to start adding risk in many areas that overshot on the downside year-to-date,” Kolanovic said.
Here, Afterpay parent Block climbed 7.11 percent, Novonix 5.07 percent and Zip Co 4.44 percent.
QBE added 0.73 percent after a boardroom reshuffle. Yasmin Allen will join as non-executive director. John Green and Stephen Fitzgerald will retire.
Going down
Star Entertainment slumped 4.98 percent to a 17-month low after hearings into the group’s fitness to hold a casino licence in Sydney generated allegations of disguised transactions and potential money laundering.
The casino was accused yesterday of reporting gambling funds as accommodation expenses. The company told the ASX it was cooperating with the review and would not comment while hearings were ongoing.
News of a share selldown by Megaport founder Bevan Slattery sent the share price down 7.71 percent. Slattery sold three million shares worth more than $39 million. He retained around 8.07 million shares in the company.
Abacus Property Group retreated 5.62 percent to $3.36 after raising $200 million from institutional investors at $3.38 per share. The funds will go towards settling acquisitions and expanding the group’s self storage portfolio.
Logistics firm Qube dipped 0.5 percent after the competition regulator held off on court action over the acquisition of Newcastle Agri Terminal but warned it would monitor developments. The ACCC said the acquisition was completed before it could be properly reviewed.
Vaccine-maker IDT skidded 15.38 percent after missing out on a government grant to help manufacture mRNA Covid vaccines in Australia. The company said it hoped to secure funds in Round 2 of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.
Among stocks trading ex-dividend, Carsales.com shed 2.68 percent. HUB24 gained 0.21 percent.
Other markets
Asian markets were mixed. The Asia Dow dropped 0.24 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite 0.25 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.25 percent. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.12 percent.
US futures faded after three days of strong gains. S&P 500 futures declined 28 points or 0.64 percent.
Oil added to last night’s 8.8 percent rebound. Brent crude rose US$1.48 or 1.4 percent to US$108.12 a barrel.
Gold dipped US$1.40 or 0.07 percent to US$1,941.40 an ounce.
The dollar edged up 0.03 percent to 73.84 US cents after rising more than 1 percent overnight.