The Australian sharemarket saw a 0.7% increase in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index on Monday, primarily driven by gains in interest rate sensitive sectors such as real estate and information technology ahead of the Reserve Bank's expected decision to maintain the cash rate. The All Ordinaries also rose by 0.7%, with notable performances from real estate stocks like Goodman Group and information technology firms like WiseTech. Additionally, mining giants benefited from a higher iron ore price, while major banks, particularly Westpac, experienced gains following the announcement of a $1 billion share buyback and special dividend in its interim results.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 36 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 4.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 1 point.
The SPI futures are up 52 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was REITs, up 1.78 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Industrials, down 0.18 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was NEXTDC (ASX:NXT), closing 3.09 per cent higher at $17.04. It was followed by shares in Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG).
The worst-performing large cap was Spark New Zealand (ASX:SPK), closing 4.24 per cent lower at $4.07. It was followed by shares in Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY) and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has lost -0.10 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0.20 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 1.02 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,323.00 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.1 per cent lower at US$117.05 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2.52 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.48 higher at US$78.59 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.18 US cents.
