The Australian sharemarket closed stronger on Monday at the start of a busy week for earnings season, after gains on Friday carried Wall Street almost back to where it began the week before its dramatic losses., with consumer discretionary and technology stocks leading the charge. Only the materials and energy sectors lost ground.JB Hi-Fi shares rose 8.
Data centre operator NextDC led the tech stock surge, with WiseTech also gaining 2.7 per cent.The laggards Rio Tinto shares slipped 1.4 per cent and BHP dropped 0.5 per cent as unions negotiating Labor’s industrial relations changes with BHP called on Rio Tinto to do the same. Mineral Resources was the second-biggest large cap decliner, followed by Pilbara Minerals . Fortescue lost 1.4 per cent.
Capital senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said the rebound in domestic technology stocks was “simply a function of the rally on Wall Street”, while financial stocks were “attempting to dig out of last week’s hole”.