AU Morning Wrap: Healthcare Stocks Drive ASX Up

On Tuesday, the $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ closed slightly lower as investors struggled to generate positive momentum before the release of critical US inflation data.

The 30-stock index declined by 9.13 points, representing a 0.02% drop, to close at 38,883.67. At its lowest point during the session, the $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ fell by 320.71 points, or 0.82%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 increased by 0.14% to reach 5,209.91, and the $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ climbed by 0.32% and ended the day at 16,306.64.

Nine out of the eleven sectors were in the green, with the benchmark $S&P/ASX 200(.XJO.AU)$ Index rising 0.4%, or 31 points, to 7855.2. Healthcare stocks were among the top performers on the ASX, with $Ansell Ltd(ANN.AU)$, a medical gloves manufacturer, continuing its 7% rally from the previous day, up by 2.5% at the start of trading. $ResMed Inc(RMD.AU)$ also experienced gains of 2%, while $Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd(NEU.AU)$ climbed by 4.3%. Meanwhile, in commodities, oil prices slightly dropped as traders assessed diplomatic maneuvers in the Middle East. However, gold prices surged by up to 1.1% to $US2365.35 per ounce, leading to a rise in the share prices of gold producers such as $Coronado Global Resources Inc(CRN.AU)$, which gained 2.4%.

$Dubber Corp Ltd(DUB.AU)$, a cloud-based call recording software company, has fired its CEO Steve McGovern after an internal probe into the disappearance of $30 million of the firm's funds. Since March 1, the ASX-listed firm's shares have been suspended from trading. The company's investigation revealed that the funds, which were intended to be held by a third-party trustee in a term deposit, may have been misused by either or both the CEO and the trustee.

$Perseus Mining Ltd(PRU.AU)$'s shares experienced a decline of 1.7% after $Silvercorp Metals Inc(SVM.CA)$ accepted its takeover proposal for OreCorp. The Canadian-based Silvercorp agreed to the offer, which included a total of 73,889,007 shares, equivalent to 15.6% of OreCorp's shares.

Dividends Paid: $Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Ltd(SXE.AU)$, $News Corp(NWS.AU)$, $NIB Holdings Ltd(NHF.AU)$, $Genesis Energy Ltd(GNE.AU)$