$A rises to US72.05¢ as Wall Street's tech leaders drive gains
Wall Street closed the week up driven by technology stocks, while oil prices climbed amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Australian share futures indicate an early rise.
Technology and communication services sectors pushed major US indices higher as investors welcomed easing bond yields and strong company performances. Microsoft advanced 2.8 per cent, Meta rose 3.6 per cent, and Apple gained 0.7 per cent. Nvidia climbed 2.2 per cent after announcing plans to acquire Hugging Face for US$13 billion. The S&P 500 added 1.1 per cent while the Dow Jones gained 631 points or 1.2 per cent. Gains in large technology and communication services stocks led the broader market's direction.
In Australia, sharemarket futures point to an opening gain of 27 points or 0.3 per cent. The ASX recorded a 0.5 per cent increase on Thursday to break its three-day losing streak. Concurrently, the Australian dollar strengthened to US72.05¢. Oil prices ticked upward as the six-month long war between the United States and Iran escalated. Iranian forces fired missiles at Kuwait in retaliation for American bombardments earlier in the week.
