All Ords (ASX:XAO) gains on Fed rate pause, Origin sinks despite offer, banks surge

The local share market was buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep rates on hold and hope that the RBA may do the same on Tuesday. The All Ordinaries gained 1 per cent and the S&P/ASX200 0.9 per cent on a strong day for the market, with the interest rate sensitive sectors in technology and property leading the way, up 3.2 and 2.4 per cent. The financial sector was a strong contributor, as both ANZ (ASX:ANZ) and Westpac (ASX:WBC) added more than 2 per cent on hopes of a settling of interest rates and improving property market. The utilities sector was the worst, falling 3.8 per cent as Brookfield’s revised offer for Origin (ASX:ORG) was met with another denial from Australian Super, despite an increase from $8.47 per share to $9.52; shares fell 6.6 per cent, with traders clearly thinking a takeover may be scuttled.

CSR upgrades, Sayona leads the way, Santos hit by pause

The energy sector fell by 2 per cent as Santos (ASX:STO) dropped 2.9 per cent on news that work on the Barossa gas pipeline project in Timor had been put on hold due to a federal court case. Building products supplier CR (ASX:CSR) gained 0.7 per cent after the company reported a 12 per cent drop in net profit despite a 5 per cent increase in revenue. The positivity came as management delivered a brighter outlook for the building products division as higher mortgage rates force higher levels of renovations. Lithium miner Sayona (ASX:SYA) led the market, gaining more than 7 per cent after reporting significant hits at its Canadian mines and upgrading its resource expectations. Another fund manager was in the news with Janus Henderson (ASX:JHG) gaining 2.5 per cent on news the company planned to de-list form the ASX before the end of the year.

Global market rally continues, best day in six months, tech stocks rally ahead of Apple result

The S&P500 managed it’s best day in six months, gaining 1.9 per cent as hope grew that rate hikes were now complete. This also boosted the Nasdaq, which gained 1.8 per cent and the Dow Jones, which was 1.7 per cent higher. The result came amid positive news of improving productivity in the US economy and falling labour costs as a result. The UK central bank also kept rates on hold as expected. Shares in cybersecurity platform Palantir (NUYSE:PLTR) rallied more than 20 per cent on positivity in the technology sector which PayPal (NYSE:PYPL) gained over 6 per cent after the new CEO delivered strong quarterly results. He delivered a strong quarterly result but investors were buoyed by a renewed focus on speed to market and development.

Drew Meredith

Drew is editor of The Inside Network's publications and a principal adviser at Wattle Partners.