End of Day Report – Thursday 12 September: ASX runs 88 points higher as banks and resources fire

ASX 200 kicked 88 points higher to 8076 ahead of ECB decision. Best day in three weeks. Back to within 72 points of an all-time high. Uranium and lithium stocks leading the charge. Gains across the board. Resources recovering as shorts getting squeezed hard, BHP the exception as it went Ex-Dividend. RIO up 1.9% and FMG up 2.2%. Lithium stocks saw a short-covering frenzy, with PLS up 7.9%, MIN up 8.3%, and IGO up 6.8%. Gold miners also back in demand, NST up 1.4% and EVN up 2.3%, with oil and gas better as the Hurricane Francine hits the Gulf of Mexico. WDS up 2.0% and STO rallying 1.2%. Uranium stocks in demand after Putin’s comments. PDN up 9.1%, BOE up 10.7% and DYL running another 13.5%. Banks were also strong too, CBA up 1.4% and WBC rose 1.4%. MQG up 1.2% with the insurers also doing ok. REITs better, GMG up 2.4% and NXT finding a base up 1.1% after a big capital raise. Other tech stocks were better, WTC up 3.5% and XRO up 2.2% with the All-Tech Index 1.9% to the good. Healthcare rose, retail rose, LOV up 1.3% and DMP recovering 4.1%. In corporate news, NEC saw its CEO resign, and BKW wrote off $123,5m after tax on its Austral masonry business. QAN announced Joyce’s final pay packet and WDS has shut down some operations in the Gulf due to the Hurricane. In other news, ACL rose 1.5% despite a large holder selling out, and NHF rose 3.0% as its CEO is set to retire. Nothing on the economic front. In Asia, tech and semi-conductor stocks led the rally, Japan up 3.1%, HK up 1.3% and China up 0.1%. 10-year yields 3.86%. Why not sign up for a free trial? Get access to expert market insights and manage your investments with confidence. Ready to invest in yourself? Join the Marcus Today community.