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ASX closed 0.75% higher: Big banks rally

PUBLISHED

2024-01-22

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At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.75 per cent higher at 7,476.60.

The Australian sharemarket saw gains driven by a US rally, with tech and financial stocks leading the way. Buy now, pay later company Zip surged 16.5% after announcing a return to semi-annual profitability. Big banks like ANZ and Commonwealth Bank also rallied, with positive forecasts for Australian banks' net interest income growth. However, falling commodity prices and warnings from mining companies affected the materials and utilities sectors negatively, causing some mining stocks to decline significantly.

Futures

The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 56 points.

The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 12.25 points.

The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 115.75 points.

The SPI futures are up 51 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector was Consumer Discretionary, up 1.68 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Materials, down 0.21 per cent.

The best-performing large cap was IDP Education (ASX:IEL), closing 5.05 per cent higher at $22.06. It was followed by shares in Steadfast Group (ASX:SDF) and Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL).

The worst-performing large cap was Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), closing 9.63 per cent lower at $52.55. It was followed by shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and South32 (ASX:S32).

Asian markets

Japan's Nikkei has gained 1.31 per cent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.93 per cent.

China's Shanghai Composite has gained 1.70 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$2,025.60 an ounce.

Light crude is trading $0.25 lower at US$73.16 a barrel.

One Australian dollar is buying 65.89 US cents.

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