ASX extends gains, led by energy and tech stocks

But it was energy stocks that led the market’s gains as oil prices steadied after a recent drop, with signs of strain in the US economy amid the brewing trade war and talks with Iran on its nuclear program in focus. Brent was below $US66 a barrel after a 1.5 per cent decline on Monday, with West Texas Intermediate near $US62.

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Australia’s biggest oil and gas producer, Woodside, rose 0.8 per cent after making its final investment decision on a $17.5 billion ($27.4 billion) liquefied natural gas export project in the US, cementing its position as a top supplier of the fuel. The approval clears the way for large-scale construction of the Louisiana LNG export plant, Woodside said.

Smaller rival Santos gained 1.7 per cent, while the nation’s biggest refiner, Ampol, added 0.9 per cent. Coal producers Whitehaven Coal and Yancoal gained 5.2 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

Endeavour shares rose 1.1 per cent. The retailer and hotel owner, which runs the bottle shop chains Dan Murphy’s and BWS, said this morning that former Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka will become its new boss from January 1, with executive chairman Ari Mervis continuing in his role until then.

On Wall Street overnight, stocks drifted to a mixed finish on Monday, ahead of potential flashpoints later this week that could bring more sharp swings for financial markets. The S&P 500 inched up by 0.1 per cent to extend its winning streak to a fifth day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1 per cent.

The relative lull in trading offered a respite from the sharp, historic swings that have rocked markets for weeks, as hopes rose and fell that President Donald Trump may back down on his trade war. Many investors believe Trump’s tariffs could cause a recession if left unaltered. Coming into Monday, the S&P 500 had roughly halved its drop that had taken it nearly 20 per cent below its record set earlier this year.

Mixed trading for some influential tech stocks ahead of their earnings reports this week pulled the S&P 500 back and forth between modest gains and losses for much of the session overnight.

Amazon fell 0.7 per cent, Microsoft dipped 0.2 per cent, Meta Platforms added 0.4 per cent, and Apple rose 0.4 per cent. All are set to report their latest result this week, and they’re some of Wall Street’s most influential companies because they’ve grown to become some of the biggest in terms of size, by far. That gives their movements extra weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes.

A fear is that Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs may be pushing households and businesses to alter their spending and freeze plans for long-term investment because of how quickly conditions can change, seemingly by the hour.

So far, economic reports have mostly shown that the US economy is still growing, though at a slower pace. On Wednesday, economists expect a report to say US economic growth slowed to a 0.8 per cent annual rate in the first quarter of this year, down from a 2.4 per cent pace at the end of last year. They also expect a slowdown in hiring to 125,000 from 228,000 in March.

With AP, AAP, Bloomberg

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