The ASX200 has added 28 points today to be trading at 7482 at 3.00 pm Sydney time.
Comments by Russian President Putin that peace talks with Ukraine were at a "dead-end" propelled the price of crude oil back above $100 p/b overnight and, with it, energy stocks.
Beach Energy (BPT) added 2.24% to $1.60, Santos (STO) lifted 1.4% to $8.12, Origin Energy (ORG) added 0.50% to $6.48, and Woodside Petroleum (WPL) added 0.12% to $32.10.
A rebound in the iron ore price back above $155 p/t on reports that Chinese authorities will again ease monetary policy to support their stagnant economy helped boost iron ore miners.
Rio Tinto (Rio) lifted 2.38% to $120.90. Fortescue Metals (FMG) added 1% to $21.38. BHP Group (BHP) added 0.4% to $51.92. Mineral Resources (MIN) added 3.90% to $61.46. Gains also for coal miners, New Hope Corporation (NHC) which added 1.1% to $3.77, and Whitehaven Coal (WHC) lifted 2.7% to $4.52.
A 30 cents per litre plunge in petrol prices at the bowser over the past fortnight has provided motorists with welcome relief ahead of Easter and a boost for consumer-facing stocks.
Flight Centre (FLT) added 2.74% to $20.27, Webjet (WEB) added 3% to $5.47, Wesfarmers (WES) added 0.9% to $48.40, while Harvey Norman (HVN) added 0.8% to $5.13.
A lower-than-expected core US CPI print overnight has raised hopes that peak inflation may be close. After a meteoric rise, U.S yields have eased, bringing some respite to tech stocks after the recent carnage.
Appen (APX) added 4% to $6.61, Life 360 (360) added 2.6% to $5.13. Afterpay owner Block (SQ2) added 0.80% to $165.10, while cloud computing company Megaport (MP1) added 1% to $12.04. There was no respite for ZIP Co (Z1P), which lost another 1.3% to $1.30 at fresh cyle lows, or Sezzle (SZL), which dropped 3.4% to $1.14.
A mixed day for the banks. Westpac (WBC) added 0.54% to $24.26, National Australia Bank (NAB) added 0.1% to $32.95, ANZ added 0.1%% to $27.54, while Commonwealth Bank (CBA) fell 0.5% to $106.20.
In the fund management space, Perpetual (PPPT) fell 2.3% to $31.41 after its bid for Pendal (PDL) was rejected.
The yoyo price action for Lithium miner Lake Resources (LKE) continues as its shares surged 10.6% to $2.04. Galan Lithium (GLN) added 3.3% to $2.02. Iluka (ILU) added 1.5% to $12.62 on news of plans to demerge their mineral sands business in Sierra Leone.
The AUDUSD is trading at .7447 ahead of tomorrow's Australian Jobs report for March. Expectations are for a 25k rise in employment and the unemployment rate to fall again to 3.9%
Source Tradingview. The figures stated are as of April 13th, 2022. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation
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