At 11:35am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.7 per cent higher at 7,881.90, driven by a strong performance from the utilities sector, particularly AGL Energy, whose earnings exceeded expectations.
This positive market sentiment was further buoyed by optimistic investor expectations of US interest rate cuts, following upbeat US inflation data. The producer price index's modest 0.1% July increase, in line with expectations, hinted at potential price deceleration, boosting investor optimism ahead of the closely watched consumer price index report.
While several other companies released earnings reports, with mixed results, the overall market trend was upward.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 47 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Information Technology, up 1.96 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Energy, down 0.3 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), trading 8.4 per cent higher at $4.13. It is followed by shares in Seven Group Holdings (ASX:SVW) and Pro Medicus (ASX:PME).
The worst-performing large cap is ASX (ASX:ASX), trading 3.52 per cent lower at $63.55. It is followed by shares in Netwealth Group (ASX:NWL) and Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2511.60 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.6 per cent lower at US$98.25 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.9 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.39 US cents.
