ASX brushes pandemic blues aside to chase Wall St tech rally

Summary

• The ASX 200 gained 0.6% at Thursday's open, recouping some of Wednesday's losses
• Wall St surged late despite a continued uptick in COVID-19 cases. Tech shares rallied
• Melbourne is now in stage 3 lockdown for six weeks. NSW has flagged new restrictions of its own
• Iron ore hit a 2020 high of $US106.50 a tonne, while gold pushed to new 9-year highs above $US1800