AU Morning Wrap: Mining and Energy Stocks Push ASX Higher

Moomoo News AU joined discussion · Nov 20, 2023 17:49

G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• S&P 500 exits correction territory
• Mining and energy stocks push ASX higher
• Stocks to watch: Brickworks, AGL Energy, Coles
- Moomoo News AU

AU Morning Wrap: Mining and Energy Stocks Push ASX Higher

Wall Street Summary

Investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence took center stage again Monday, after Microsoft announced it was hiring freshly ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to lead its new advanced AI research team.

The news spurred a rally in Microsoft shares, helping power stock indexes higher. The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ climbed 0.7 per cent, and the tech-heavy $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ advanced 1.1 per cent. The $Dajin Lithium Corp(DJI.CA)$ rose 0.6 per cent, or around 204 points.

Coming off three straight weeks of gains, the S&P 500 is now up 8.4 per cent this month and 18 per cent for the year. The recent rally has been fueled by growing bets that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates. But optimism about AI has continued to be a tailwind as well, extending a trend that kicked off last year after OpenAI's release of its ChatGPT chatbot.

AU Market Watch

Australian shares opened higher on Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street after Microsoft led a sharp rally in US mega cap tech stocks.

The benchmark $S&P/ASX 200(.XJO.AU)$ rose 0.3 per cent, or 22,6 points to 7081 at the start of trade, buoyed by the materials and energy sectors. The Australian dollar is also trading higher to around US65.6¢ after the US dollar traded near an 11-week low.

Energy stocks are in the green after crude oil extended gains amid growing speculation that the OPEC+ alliance will intervene in the market to bolster prices. West Texas Intermediate rose 2.3 per cent to settle above $US77 a barrel. Ampol added 0.7 per cent, Santos up 0.9 per cent and Beach Energy rallied 1 per cent.

Stocks to Watch

$Technology One Ltd(TNE.AU)$: TechnologyOne rallied 1 per cent after it reported a boost to its profit after tax, up 16 per cent to $129.9 million for financial year 2023. Its revenue increased 19 per cent to $441.4 million.

$Coles Group Ltd(COL.AU)$: Supermarket giant Coles edged up 0.9 per cent. Its Treasury Group isseeking $1.25 billion in seven- and 10-year bonds. The $570 million minimum seven-year piece is marketed at around 145 basis points over swap to yield 6.1 per cent and the $680 million minimum 10-year at 170 basis points over swap to yield around 6.43 per cent.

$Brickworks Ltd(BKW.AU)$: Brickworks shed 2 per cent even as it said an increased financial year 2023 final dividend (fully franked) of 42¢ per share will be payable to its shareholders tomorrow, bringing total full-year dividends to 65¢ per share.

Companies scheduled to hold annual general meetings include AGL Energy, BlueScope Steel, Fortescue Metals, Monadelphous and Perseus Mining.

$Elders Ltd(ELD.AU)$: Elders lost 3.4 per cent and Amcor dropped 1.3, the companies trade ex-dividend.