ASX News LIVE | ASX Opens to Record High Following Wall Street; Gold Surge Continues

The ASX 200 closed up 1% at 7,869.9 at a new record high for the index, following similar moves on Wall Street.

All sectors except Financials were up today, with the Mining sector leading the charge, up 2.10% on rebounding commodity prices. The bullish sentiment extended to interest-rate-sensitive sectors.

Mining giants led the charge, with BHP advancing 1.35% to A$44.27, Fortescue rising +2% and lithium producer Pilbara Minerals climbing 2.13% to A$3.83. The rally in mining stocks signalled renewed optimism about the global economic outlook and a longer-term weakening of the stalwart USD.

Gold prices touching fresh highs saw gold producers top the ASX 200, with solid gains focused across the mid-cap producers. ANZ analysts noted that the rising gold price suggests the market expects further declines in inflation, which could prompt central banks to cut rates later this year, while safe-haven demand remains robust.

The ASX 200 is up by +0.92% at 7,891.2, a record high as all sectors except financials are up today. The market leaders are in the mining sector with the mega-caps gaining as well as gold and lithium producers climbing as commodity prices continue to gain.

The interest rate-sensitive banking, property and retail sectors also climbed amid expectations of rate cuts in late 2024.

Mining giants BHP (+1.95%) and Newmont (+3.35%) surged as gold hit US$2,195.57 an ounce. Chalice Mining is up 9.45%, while market leader Mesoblast gained 16.16% so far today as the FDA supported its proposed license application for its inflammatory drug.

‘Today’s rally is primarily driven by miners, signalling a cyclical upswing and growing confidence in the global economic outlook,’ remarked Sean Sequeira, the chief investment officer at Australian Eagle Asset Management.

On Wall Street, the Dow jumped 478 points while the S&P 500 closed at a record high.

Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest retail trade data that showed retail sales up +0.3% month-on-month in February. This was slightly below forecasts of 0.4%.

Specialist dairy company Synlait Milk [ASX:SM1] requested a trading halt today as the company races to secure a deal on a looming $130 million loan.

In the announcement today the company said it needed more time to discuss with bankers and major shareholders the repayment of the loan or a potential extension.

It says the halt will remain in place until Tuesday 2 April, when it is due to report its half-year earnings.

I would expect those half-year results to disappoint investors further as the company has been under increasing financial pressure from weaker sales and a shortage of interest in the attempted sale of its Dairyworks business.

The deleveraging of Dairyworks has been seen as crucial as the company attempts to reduce its debt levels, but things have been quiet so far.

Adding to their woes is an ongoing dispute with its major client A2 Milk [ASX:A2M], which plans to end its exclusive manufacturing and supply agreements for infant milk formula.

Synlait’s share price has fallen by -65% in the past 12 months.

Property giants Charter Long Hall [ASX:CHC] has announced the purchase of a 14.8% stake in Hotel Property Investments [ASX:HPI] for $97 million.

That’s the equivalent of $3.35 per HPI share, which the company paid out of cash reserves.

Charter Long Hall becomes the largest shareholder of HPI, which owns a portfolio of 57 Australian hotel properties across the eastern seaboard.

Charter Hall has over $10 billion in assets across its property funds management platform and see’s the purchase as a complementary investment.

Shares of Charter Hall Group are up by +1.93% at $13.74 per share, while HPI is up by 3.06% at $3.37 per share.

Gold miner Ramelius Resources [ASX:] has abandoned its takeover bid for multi-asset Canadian miner Karora after the two failed to reach an agreement on value.

The board released a small note today saying that after the due diligence and failed discussions no further action will take place and the deal has concluded.

Shares of Ramelius are up by 1.25% in this mornings trading as Gold touched a new all-time high in overnight trading.

Good morning. Charlie here,

The ASX 200 opened up +0.81% to 7,883.0 as markets here and in the US reached new all-time highs.

After a mixed few sessions, markets broke out with strong gains across the board as markets looked to broaden out beyond the big names.

In Australia, we saw the latest monthly CPI data showing a rise of 3.4% on an annualised basis, slightly under forecasts of 3.5%. As a response, the AUD eased back around 0.2%.

Meanwhile, the Yen dropped to a 34-year low as traders increased their bets that some intervention is required from the BoJ.

Wall Street: S&P 500 +0.86%, Dow +1.22%, Nasdaq +0.51%.

Overseas: FTSE flat, STOXX +0.35%, Nikkei +0.90%, SSE -1.26%.

The Aussie dollar fell -0.18% to US 65.22 cents.

US 10-year bond yields -4bps to 4.19%.

Australian 10-year bond yields -4bps to 3.98%.

Gold rose +0.56% to US$2,191.81, while Silver rose +0.61% to US$24.59.

Bitcoin fell -1.29% to US$69,225, while Ethereum fell -2.72% to US$3,503.

Oil Brent rose +0.10% to US$86.34, while WTI Crude rose +0.48% to US$81.74.

Iron ore fell -2.9% to US$101.15 a tonne.