At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.54 per cent higher at 7,450.70 after the Reserve Bank’s left the cash rate on hold.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 11 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 0.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 2.5 points.
The SPI futures are up 47 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors closed in the black. The best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 1.14 per cent. The sector with the fewest gains was Industrials, up 0.05 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG), closing 11.55 per cent higher at $5.60. It was followed by shares in IGO (ASX:IGO) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC).
The worst-performing large cap was Infratil (ASX:IFT), closing 2.56 per cent lower at $9.12. It was followed by shares in Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) and EBOS Group (ASX:EBO).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.87 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.56 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.21 per cent.
Company news
Patriot Battery Metals (TSX.V: PMET | ASX: PMT | OTCQX: PMETF | FSE: R9GA) has entered into a subscription agreement with respect to a private placement of approximately C$109 million in Patriot by Albemarle Corporation. In response, Blair Way, Company President and CEO, commented: “the additional funding will allow us to more aggressively advance the Corvette Property through drilling, permitting, study work and more.” Shares are trading 11.6 per cent higher at $1.69.
Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC, OTC:LYSDY) has signed a follow up contract with the US Department of Defence for the construction of the Lynas U.S. Rare Earths Processing Facility in Texas. In response, Amanda Lacaze, CEO & Managing Director of Lynas said, “Lynas is the only commercial scale source of separated rare earths outside of China and our expertise makes us the ideal partner for the DoD as it addresses supply chain vulnerabilities and strengthens national security.” Shares are trading 4.31 per cent higher at $7.02.
Talon (ASX:TPD) received a revised non-binding indicative proposal from Strike Energy (ASX:STX) which has now been withdrawn. Despite negotiations, both parties failed to reach an agreement on final terms, leading to the withdrawal of the proposal. Shares are trading 18.4 per cent lower at 15.5 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2000.20 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.6 per cent higher at US$110.05 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.68 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.04 US cents.
