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The longest winning run of the year carried the share market to a fresh 13-month high as record Chinese steel prices boosted iron ore producers.
The S&P/ASX 200 rallied 72 points or 1.04 per cent towards a fifth straight advance. The benchmark hit 7012 mid-morning, its highest level since last February, before easing to 6999.
The broader All Ordinaries fared even better, rising to within 0.4 per cent of an all-time high. Today’s rally lifted the ASX 200 to within 2.6 per cent of last year’s peak.
What’s driving the market
BHP and Rio Tinto led the charge as iron ore responded to soaring steel rebar prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. BHP put on 2 per cent, Rio Tinto 1.6 per cent and Fortescue Metals 1.5 per cent.
Benchmark ore imported into China hit US$173.63 a tonne yesterday, just shy of January’s nine-and-a-half-year high of US$174.07. Prices improved as Chinese steel futures touched fresh peaks following a clampdown on pollution in the nation’s leading steelmaking city, Tangshan.
“Chinese government restrictions continue to be supportive for prices,” ING commodity strategists told Reuters.
The advance has accelerated over the last two sessions even as Wall Street marked time. The S&P 500 has barely moved since Monday, dipping 0.1 per cent on Tuesday, then edging up 0.15 per cent overnight.
“Post Easter trading remains essentially featureless, with nothing for markets to really get their teeth stuck into and participation doubtless on the low side given the school holidays and the likely absence of a fair few risk takers this week,” NAB Head of FX Strategy Ray Attrill wrote. “US equities have… closed with the S&P 500 up a measly 0.15% (so essentially two flat days after two prior days of record daily closes),” he added.
Rising US futures hinted at potential gains tonight. S&P 500 futures climbed 14 points or almost 0.4 per cent. Nasdaq futures rallied 0.5 per cent.
Going up
All 11 sectors rose. Nineteen of the twenty market behemoths of the ASX 20 rallied. Gains ranged from a slim 0.2 per cent for toll road operator Transurban up to 2.5 per cent for pokie-maker Aristocrat Leisure.
Westpac shrugged off another tiff with a regulator, rising 1.6 per cent despite news ASIC launched civil proceedings regarding the alleged sale of unwanted consumer credit insurance. The bank said around 384 customers were affected, and it no longer sold the product.
NAB climbed 1.5 per cent to a four-week high. ANZ added 1.4 per cent and CBA 1.2 per cent.
Woolworths rallied 0.9 per cent to within a few cents of its January pandemic-era peak. Coles, which has underperformed its rival since February’s half-year report, rose 0.4 per cent. Wesfarmers added 0.7 per cent, Telstra 1.3 per cent and CSL 0.6 per cent.
Health and beauty specialist McPherson’s edged up 0.9 per cent after the board recommended shareholders reject an unsolicited takeover offer from Gallin. The company said the offer “profoundly undervalues MCP” and was timed to “exploit McPherson’s recent share price weakness following a period of challenging trading conditions”.
EML Payments climbed another 4 per cent following yesterday’s announcement it will acquire European payments provider Sentenial. AMP bounced 3.6 per cent from yesterday’s 11-month closing low.
Going down
Gold stocks retreated after the precious metal dipped to its first loss in five sessions. Resolute Mining fell 3.1 per cent, Perseus 1.1 per cent and St Barbara 0.1 per cent.
Mining services company Worley dipped 0.3 per cent despite a contract win. The company announced it had won the engineering services contract to convert Phillips 66’s San Francisco refinery into a facility for manufacturing renewable fuels.
Uranium hopeful Greenland Minerals lost almost half its market value after the anti-mining Community of the People party won 37 per cent of the electoral vote. The result threatens Greenland Minerals’ hopes of mining uranium and other minerals on the island. The share price tumbled 45 per cent before the company requested a trading halt.
Other markets
Key Asian markets moved lower. The Asia Dow eased 0.16 per cent. China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.24 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 0.46 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.61 per cent.
Oil reversed last night’s gains. Brent crude sank 47 cents or 0.7 per cent to US$62.69 a barrel. Gold declined $5.90 or 0.3 per cent to US$1,735.70 an ounce.
The dollar held steady at 76.09 US cents.
