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As it happened: ASX rebound wanes on volatile US futures market

Summary

  • The ASX 200's rebound from a 10-week low lost momentum on Thursday as US futures softened. The local bourse closed up 0.5% after being as much as 1.3% ahead
  • Woolworths boss Brad Banducci has warned the Victorian government its stores in the state could suffer from stock shortages by Christmas if restrictions on grocery supply chains aren't eased
  • Myer has swung to a $172m full-year loss after the retailer was forced to write down the value of its brand name amid the COVID-19 crisis. Its stock was 14.7% lower at 22 cents. 
  • Markets in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea were also ahead today. US futures were up 0.1% at 4pm AEST

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Market wrap: ASX finishes 0.5% ahead after wobbly rebound rally

By Alex Druce

The Australian sharemarket snuck home with a 0.5 per cent lead on Thursday after its rebound rally from a 10-week low was curtailed by a softening US futures market.

The ASX 200 added 29.9 points to close at 5908.5 on Thursday in a session that started strong but ran out of puff. Tech shares led gains throughout the day, boosted by Afterpay, Appen and Megaport.

The ASX gained ground on Thursday, albeit unconvincingly. Credit:Louie Douvis

The local bourse peaked after 11 minutes with a 1.3 per cent rise. The early bounce came courtesy of a solid Wall Street lead, where investors bought the dip and arrested a three-session tech plunge.

But investor attention soon turned stateside amid a lack of local news and a sliding futures market appeared to hijack proceedings.

“The market (was) probably looking back at the US for direction … given the fact there hasn’t been much in the way of broader economic news today,” EY partner and investment banking veteran Duncan Hogg said.

“Because of that there’s probably a bit of concern that there is a dead cat bounce coming.... My view is that we’re probably likely to see another drop in the US given the rally the tech stocks have had.”

Mr Hogg said investors were also likely to continue to search for leads if the post-earnings season landscape remained quiet.

“It leaves us vulnerable to taking direction from news overseas… and it also leaves us vulnerable to people watching COVID-19 statistics with more detail,” he said.

“If these (virus) numbers continue to come down in Victoria and NSW continues to keep them under control, then I think the market will get a level of optimism that will continue to drive it into positive territory.”

The banks started well on Thursday but soon fell back and finished the session in the red.

NAB led losses for the big four with a 0.7 per cent decline to $17.32.

Macquarie Group was an exception, jumping 1.1 per cent to $127.39.

Ex-dividend CSL rose 0.4 per cent to $282, while Fisher and Paykel dropped 0.9 per cent to $30.85. Biopharmaceutical Clinuvel was the best performer on the index with a 9.2 per cent rise to $21.51.

Mining titans BHP and Rio Tinto added 0.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively while the gold producers shone.

Newcrest finished up 1.8 per cent $31.80 after announcing encouraging exploration results in Western Australia and Canada. Gold Road Resources added 6.2 per cent to $1.62 on a similarly positive update.

Fortescue Metals ended 0.6 per cent lower at $17.89 after enjoying a strong start.

The tech sector finished 1.4 per cent ahead to lead gains.

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