After a stronger-than-expected US inflation figure for August, the Australian August job report blew expectations out of the water, with 64,900 jobs created in the month, well above the 23,000 anticipated by economists.
The unemployment rate stayed at 3.7% in August. The data was viewed as boosting the case for the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates at least one more time, given the tight labour market.
However, hours worked fell and the job growth was skewed towards part-time workers.
The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) gained 32 points, or 0.5%, to 7,186, while the broader All Ordinaries (INDEXASX: XAO) Index also lifted 0.5%, up 37 points to 7,382, as the indices gained impetus from iron ore, coal and uranium producers. Iron ore futures in Singapore pushed above $US120 per tonne, a six-month high, following a month-long rally that mow exceeds 20%.
In response, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) rose 34 cents, or 0.8%, to $44.14; Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) gained 81 cents, or 4.1%, to $20.41; and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) jumped $2.06, or 1.8%, to $115.45.
The Big Four banks all finished higher, with ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) rising 27 cents, or 1.1%, to $25.60; National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) advancing 33 cents, also 1.1%, to $29.31; Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) gaining 43 cents, or 0.4%, to $102.13; and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) adding 13 cents, or 0.6%, to $21.62.
Uranium lights up the market
In the energy sector, uranium producers and developers had a day out, after uranium prices hit a decade high on predictions of a doubling of demand by 2040, in a report from the World Nuclear Association.
Bannerman Energy Ltd (ASX: BMN) surged 24 cents, or 10.2%, to a one-and-a-half-year high of $2.60; Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) jumped 35 cents, or 8.8%, to an all-time high of $4.32; Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) lifted 8 cents, or 8.3%, to a one-year high of $1.05; and Namibia-based producer Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) gained 3.5 cents, or 3.9%, to 93 cents.
Coal producers also enjoyed Thursday. Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) rose 12 cents, or 2.5%, to $5.02; Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) gained 21 cents, or 3.4%, to $6.37; New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) strengthened 15 cents, or 2.5%, to $6.09; Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) moved 7 cents, or 4.2%, to $1.745; and Stanmore Resources Ltd (ASX: SMR) added 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.12.
Elsewhere, drug developer Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX: SPL) retreated 1 cent, or 6.3%, to 15 cents, after positive interim results for the company’s cancer drug sent the shares up 20% a day earlier.
Infrastructure services company Downer EDI Ltd (ASX: DOW) rose 6 cents, or 1.4%, to $4.22 after securing a new contract from the Australian Defence Force valued at up to $750 million.
Bond market flashing red: US shares continue to ignore it
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) rose the most in more than a month as traders cheered the revival of Wall Street’s IPO market, after chip design company Arm surged 25% on debut.
The Dow gained 331.58 points, or just under 1%, to 34,907.11. The broader S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) index was up 37.66 points, or 0.8%, to 4,505.10, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) index advanced 112.47 points, also 0.8%, to 13,926.05.
US retail sales came in better than expected, lifting 0.6%, well ahead of the 0.1% increase expected by economists.
Many in the market, however, are convinced that the bond market continues to tell a different story: the US 10-year yield has now been below the 3-month yield for 212 trading days. That inversion is considered a recession warning: on some readings, the US bond market has not flashed a recession warning so consistently, for so long, in at least six decades.
Gold gained US$1.43, or 0.1%, to US$1,910.52 an ounce. The global benchmark Brent crude oil grade surged US$1.82, or 2%, to US$93.70 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate gained 42 cents, or 0.5%, to US$90.58 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying 64.35 US cents, slightly weaker on the 64.42 cents it was buying at the ASX close on Thursday.