On Thursday, the Australian sharemarket reached a five-month high, driven by a strong performance in real estate and technology stocks.
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.73 per cent higher at 7,455.90.
The market's optimism was fueled by the belief that the Federal Reserve had raised the cash rate for the final time in its tightening cycle.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 9 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 15 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 122.25 points.
The SPI futures are up 53 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was REITs, up 3.35 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Materials, down 1.04 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was ALS (ASX:ALQ), closing 3.63 per cent higher at $11.71. It was followed by shares in SEEK (ASX:SEK) and Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC).
The worst-performing large cap was Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), closing 5.85 per cent lower at $7.08. It was followed by shares in Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.68 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 1.02 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.12 per cent.
Company news
R3D Resources (ASX:R3D) announced that it has completed the refurbishment of its solvent extraction – crystallisation process plant. In response, Managing Director Stephen Bartrop commented: “Cash flows from copper sulphate pentahydrate sales are expected to be a ‘game changer’ for the Company and allow it to achieve its desired self-funding status.” Shares closed 60 per cent higher at 4 cents.
GQG Partners (ASX:GQG) announces that it intends to submit a non-binding indicative proposal to acquire all of the issued ordinary shares in Pacific Current Group (ASX:PAC). GQG Partners Chief Executive Officer Tim Carver stated: “We believe that we can put forward a compelling proposal to PAC shareholders, and that we will be viewed as strategically compelling to both PAC’s underlying portfolio companies and management team.” Shares closed 0.6 per cent lower at $1.65.
Bastion Minerals Limited (ASX:BMO) will exercise the early option to acquire the three highly prospective lithium property packages located in Ontario, Canada. Bastion’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Ross Landles, said: “We are very encouraged with the early exploration activities undertaken by our team on the ground and we look forward to updating the market shortly on the progress.” Shares closed 14.8 per cent higher at 3.1 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,975.80 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.3 per cent lower at US$116.45 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.4 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.72 higher at US$79.50 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.89 US cents.
