On Monday, the Australian stock market saw a significant uptick, recovering from the minor losses experienced in the previous session. This rally was inspired by broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index surged towards the 8,100.00 mark, with notable gains across most sectors, particularly in energy and technology stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 57.00 points, or 0.71%, reaching 8,080.90, after hitting a high of 8,086.70 earlier. Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries Index advanced 62.60 points, or 0.76%, to 8,311.70. Notably, Australian stocks had closed slightly lower on Friday.
In the mining sector, BHP Group and Mineral Resources saw modest gains of 0.2% to 0.4%, while Fortescue Metals rose by over 1%. However, Rio Tinto edged down by 0.1%. Among oil stocks, Beach Energy gained more than 1%, Woodside Energy added nearly 2%, Origin Energy edged up by 0.3%, whereas Santos fell by more than 1%.
Tech stocks also showed strength, with WiseTech Global advancing nearly 1%, Zip adding almost 4%, and Appen soaring over 10%. However, Afterpay owner Block and Xero remained flat.
The performance among gold miners was mixed. Newmont, Evolution Mining, and Northern Star Resources saw slight declines of 0.1% to 0.4%, while Gold Road Resources dropped nearly 4%. Conversely, Resolute Mining gained almost 2%.
All major banks experienced gains. Commonwealth Bank and Westpac both increased by more than 1%, National Australia Bank edged up by 0.5%, and ANZ Banking added nearly 1%.
In corporate news, Kelsian Group's shares plummeted over 19% after the bus and ferry operator announced a substantial $185 million reinvestment into the company this year.
Aussie Broadband saw its shares surge by over 8% following the issuance of a 4-cent dividend to investors, coupled with a 26% jump in full-year revenue and a 21% rise in profits.
NIB Holdings experienced a significant slump of more than 15%, despite reporting a 67.4% increase in full-year net profit and a 9.3% rise in group revenue.
On the other hand, Tyro's shares soared nearly 13% as its after-tax profits quadrupled. CEO Jon Davey announced plans to enter "two new verticals" in the upcoming 12 months.
Kogan.com climbed more than 9% after the online retailer declared a final dividend of 7.5 cents, marking its narrow return to profitability in 2023-24.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar traded at $0.679 on Monday.
In the U.S., Wall Street experienced a strong rebound on Friday following a pullback in the previous session. The major averages all posted significant gains, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching their highest closing levels since mid-July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 462.30 points, or 1.1%, to 41,175.08. The Nasdaq surged 258.44 points, or 1.5%, to 17,877.79, while the S&P 500 shot up 63.97 points, or 1.2%, to 5,634.61.
European markets also trended higher for the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.5%, while France's CAC 40 Index and Germany's DAX Index advanced by 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
Oil prices continued their upward movement on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery surged $1.82, or 2.5%, to $74.83 a barrel, following a $1.08, or 1.5%, increase to $73.01 a barrel on Thursday. Despite this, crude oil prices fell by 0.9% for the week due to earlier sell-offs.
