AU Morning Wrap: ASX Lifts Buoyed by Energy; Amcor Falls

Moomoo News AU joined discussion · Mar 19 18:43

G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• S&P 500 climbed to its 18th record close of the year
• ASX lifts buoyed by energy; Amcor falls
• Stocks to watch: Sonic Healthcare, Amcor, South32, Perseus Mining

AU Morning Wrap: ASX Lifts Buoyed by Energy; Amcor Falls

Wall Street Summary

Stocks closed higher Tuesday, ramping up from a morning pullback as the market reacted to the news that $NVIDIA(NVDA.US)$ announced a large computer chip for AI processing at its GTC event Monday night. Investors await the FOMC policy statement on Wednesday, where the market has priced in a 99% chance of no rate change.

With preliminary numbers, the $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ climbed 0.56% to its 18th record close of the year at 5,178.51. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ climbed 0.83%, and the $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ climbed 0.54%.

AU Market Watch

Australian stocks continued their upward momentum, supported by the S&P 500's impressive finish, as investors waited for signals about the interest rate trajectory from the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Among the 11 sectors in the index, only materials were in decline, while energy was the top performer.

Stocks to Watch

Packing giant $Amcor PLC(AMC.AU)$'s CEO Ronald Delia has announced his retirement due to health reasons.

$South32 Ltd(S32.AU)$, the mining giant, has withdrawn its Australian manganese output guidance and is exploring alternative shipping arrangements due to the damage caused by Cyclone Megan to Groote Eylandt port.

$Sonic Healthcare Ltd(SHL.AU)$, a diagnostics company, has signed a binding agreement to acquire Dr Risch laboratory group based in Switzerland for 117 million Swiss francs ($202 million) in shares and cash.

$Perseus Mining Ltd(PRU.AU)$, a gold miner, has increased its takeover bid for Tanzanian explorer $OreCorp Ltd(ORR.AU)$ as the competition for the acquisition intensifies.