Australian shares nudge higher in choppy morning trade
Australian shares have edged higher after see-sawing in morning trade, mirroring a similar session on Wall Street ahead of expected volatility.
At midday the S&P/ASX200 was 6.4 points higher, or 0.08 per cent, to 7923.8, as the broader All Ordinaries edged up 3.8 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 8152.5.
Markets were buoyed in the previous session after the US Federal Reserve gave a softer than expected forecast, but gains gave way to jitters overnight ahead of key trading date.
“US stocks fell in the second half of Thursday as investors took fresh profits off the table ahead of Friday’s $US4.5 trillion ‘triple witching’ event, where options contracts expire on the same day for stocks, indices and ETFs,” Moomoo market strategist Jessica Amir said.
“It occurs once a quarter and typically causes huge swings in volatility.”
Local market sectors were mixed, with four segments trading on 0.5 per cent gains and a three per sent surge in consumer discretionary stocks.
Coles and Woolworths shares led the supermarket sweep, up 3.3 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively, after a public inquiry into the sector found no clear evidence of “price gouging” and snubbed calls to recommend breaking up the oligopoly.
The inquiry led by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found the two supermarket giants were among the most profitable in the world.
Woolies was the best performing stock by lunchtime, up 5.1 per cent to $29.58.
Financials were chopping either side of flat for most of the morning, with Westpac down 0.2 per cent and ANZ, CBA and NAB up between 0.1 and 0.4 per cent.
Iron ore miners enjoyed a modest rebound after underperforming on Thursday with BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue up between 0.3 and 0.7 per cent.
Coal miners suffered with Whitehaven, Yancoal and New Hope Corporation down more than 2.2 per cent each after US President Donald Trump invoked emergency powers to boost US critical minerals production.
Oil prices have soared to their highest level since the start of the month after the US announced new sanctions on Iran and OPEC+ flagged tighter production.
Brent crude futures lifted 42 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $US72.40 per barrel.
The traditionally defensive utilities sector was 0.5 per cent higher amid broader uncertainty as Origin, AGL and Mercury all gained more than 0.5 per cent.
Healthcare and IT stocks were the worst-performing sectors, losing 0.6 per cent each.
The Australian dollar has continued to slide against the greenback to buy 62.99 US cents, down from 63.38 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
