ASX closes at record high as tech and mining stocks rally, oil at $US76

The Australian sharemarket closed at a record high on Wednesday as hopes for an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz overpowered a sell-off in bank and energy stocks.The S&P/ASX 200 added 82 points, or 0.9 per cent, to close at 9227.80, fuelled by a rally in technology and mining stocks. Five of the 11 sectors were lower, led by a downturn in financials and energy.Wall Street rallied overnight, sending the S&P 500 and Dow Jones to record closes on news of a possible interim peace deal between the US and Iran to end the war, which is now in its sixth month. A robust quarterly earnings season is also helping.Rob Taubman, executive director for UBS global markets, said the rally had been driven by markets looking ahead to the August earnings season, which kicks off in earnest next week.“We have a saying on equity desks that often you get a lot of pre-warning from companies that have to come out ahead of reporting season and warn [the market],” he said. “We haven’t seen that with this reporting season, so I think that’s part of why there’s some tension in the system and the equity markets are moving up.”Wall Street has also helped with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging 6.6 per cent overnight amid renewed optimism in the artificial intelligence trade. That buoyancy didn’t extend to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, however, with shares down 7.5 per cent in after-hours trading as investors soured on the large AI spend flagged in its debut earnings result.On the ASX, it was a good day for technology and materials stocks, with the sectors rallying 2.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively. WiseTech Global added 5.4 per cent to close at $39.9, while Life360 climbed 3.8 per cent to end the day at $29.5. BHP gained 3.3 per cent after awarding a $200 million contract to build a car dumper to listed engineering firm Monadelphous, with shares finishing up at $2.Energy stocks continued to bear the brunt of the unwind from geopolitical jitters. Woodside shed 3.6 per cent to close at $31.8 and Santos 2 per cent to close at $7.60 to lead the sector to a 2.2 per cent loss, extending the damage done earlier in the week as oil prices continue to slide. Brent crude oil was trading at $US76 on Wednesday.And the financials sector fell 0.4 per cent, down from a larger intraday fall of 1 per cent as bank stocks steadied. Commonwealth Bank dropped 1.4 per cent to end the day at $178.2. While ANZ, National Australia Bank and Westpac all fell less than 1 per cent. Macquarie was one bright spot, adding 1.5 per cent to close at $267.Stocks in focusEndeavour Group fell 1.4 per cent to $3.43 after preliminary results showed the group flagged $311 million in significant items that dragged full-year profit down 14.7 per cent.Light & Wonder rose 4 per cent after the poker machine company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings results, with shares closing at $118.Argo Investments added 2.1 per cent to $9.40 after the company moved to quarterly dividends for the first time in a bid to compete with exchange-traded funds that have taken the shine off listed investment companies.Neuren Pharmaceuticals jumped 16.3 per cent to $21.64, while IperionX rose 9 per cent to $3.41, rebounding from a sell-off earlier this week over its plans to move its parent company to Texas.Pinnacle Investment Management was up 8.4 per cent after announcing solid profit results and record funds under management after the closing of trading on Tuesday. The shares closed at $19.30.