ASX 200 approaches all-time high point after Wall Street surges on the back of positive jobs numbers despite trade war
The jump puts the index about half a per cent from its February high point before the tariff announcements sparked massive sell offs amongst investors.
It follows the ASX 200 finishing up about 0.7 per cent on Tuesday, despite IDP Education suffering a devastating 48 per cent share price drop after the company forecasted its earnings would halve.
IDP has pared back some losses on Wednesday, with the stock up 4.6 per cent in the first 30 minutes of trading.
The biggest movers so far include Judo Capital (up 6.5 per cent), Paladin Energy (up 6.1 per cent) and Boss Energy (up 5.3 per cent).
Wall Street was in the green on Tuesday with the Dow Jones up 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 rising 0.6 per cent and the Nasdaq jumping 0.8 per cent.
Major chipmakers helped pushed the indexes up with Nvidia adding 2.8 per cent and Broadcom rising 3.3 per cent after the company said it had begun exporting its latest chip.
The indexes were also boosted by US job openings unexpectedly rising in April to 7.4 million from 7.2 million despite Donald Trump's trade war, pushing the S&P 500 within three per cent of its all time high.
London's FTSE 250 Index finished flat on Tuesday, while Germany's DAX Index jumped 0.7 per cent and the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.1 per cent.
New Zealand's NZX 50 Index has surged 0.6 per cent on Wednesday while Japan's Nikkei 225 has risen almost 0.9 per cent.
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Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
ASX 200 finishes in positive territory on Wednesday after rough start
Sky News Business Reporter Edward Boyd says the overall stockmarket today started in negative territory but turned positive after about an hour of trading. 'Most sectors were in the green, led by property REITs and the banks,' Mr Boyd said. 'Mining and health care stocks slumped.' The ASX 200 finished the day up 0.25 per cent.

The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
ASX finishes higher as banks, retailers rise; James Hardie shares plummet
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News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
ASX steadies as banks lead recovery after CSL shock
Australia's sharemarket edged higher on Wednesday, bouncing back slightly after a two-day slump driven by CSL's record one-day fall. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 21.8 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 8,918, while the broader All Ordinaries added 3.6 points to 9,177.4. The Australian dollar slipped slightly to 64.7 US cents. Over the past five days, the index has gained 1.03 per cent and sits just 0.5 per cent below its 52-week high. Banks continued to support the market, with all four major lenders climbing. Commonwealth Bank added 0.79 per cent to $172.40, Westpac jumped 2.47 per cent to $38.23, NAB surged 3.68 per cent to $42.03, and ANZ rose 1.95 per cent to $33.41. IG analyst Tony Sycamore said the ASX 200 had performed 'really well'. 'The ASX 200 is insulated because we don't have the concentration of tech stocks that hit the US markets,' Mr Sycamore said. 'One of the reasons why we're seen as a more defensive market is because we've got the banks, and the banks have done well again today.' Seven of the 11 sectors higher. After Tuesday's shock fall of 16.89 per cent in CSL shares, the healthcare giant continued to weigh on the sector, which slipped 1.28 per cent. Other sectors on the decline included information technology (-2.32 per cent), materials (-1.16 per cent), and energy (-1.23 per cent), while consumer discretionary (+1.93 per cent), real estate (+1.80 per cent), and financials (+1.43 per cent) led the winners. 'Elsewhere, we saw some fall in CSL extent today, so there is certainly an exodus which continues from that particular stock, and it does feel like the market's the wrong way around with regards to CSL,' Mr Sycamore said. 'It was certainly a shock yesterday, and in terms of early season bombshells, probably the biggest one I can recall in recent memory.' Top performers on Wednesday included HMC Capital, up 17.74 per cent to $3.85, and Centuria Capital Group, which gained 11.63 per cent to $2.40. Synlait Milk (+8.11 per cent), Service Stream (+7.92 per cent), and Strickland Metals (+7.69 per cent) also posted strong gains. However, some high-profile falls highlighted ongoing volatility. James Hardie plunged 27.83 per cent to $32, while Arafura Rare Earths (-13.64 per cent), Elsight (-13.53 per cent), and Electro Optic Systems (-13.09 per cent) were among the biggest decliners. Mr Sycamore said after recent market jitters and high-profile earnings shocks, investors were seeking safer options. 'The lure of the banks is proving to be appealing,' Mr Sycamore said. 'Given recent uncertainty, investors are moving towards stocks with cheaper valuations. For example, CBA trading at $172 now compared to $192 a couple of months ago makes it look more attractive. 'We're moving into a period where people are going to be more selective and favour cheaper, more defensively valued stocks.' Miners gave back some of Tuesday's gains. BHP, which rallied 1.57 per cent on Monday, retreated slightly in Wednesday's session, reflecting a broader pullback in the sector. 'Big mining stocks had a bad day today, but their valuations aren't expensive by any stretch of the imagination,' Mr Sycamore said. 'We're seeing more stock selection based on value rather than just momentum, which has been driving markets for a while.'