AU Morning Wrap: ASX 200 Inches Closer to Record, Megaport Jumps 19%

Both the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ and the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ notched records. The benchmark index gained 0.8 per cent Monday, while the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ added 0.6 per cent, or 224 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased 1.1 per cent.

The benchmark $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ rose 0.5 per cent or 37.6 points to 7616 at the start of trade, led by gains in technology and mining stocks. It is within 20 points of its record high reached in August 2021. The Australian dollar rose 0.5 per cent to US66.09¢.

The information technology sector was the best performing, up 1.5 per cent. $Xero Ltd (XRO.AU)$ jumped 2.1 per cent, $Technology One Ltd (TNE.AU)$ rallied 1.1 per cent and $WiseTech Global Ltd (WTC.AU)$ edged higher 0.7 per cent.

$Atlas Arteria Ltd (ALX.AU)$: Atlas Arteria rallied 1.1 per cent says toll revenue increased 5.9 per cent in the December quarter following price increases and strong traffic performance at the company’s most profitable toll road asset, the APPR motorway in France.

$Sandfire Resources Ltd (SFR.AU)$: Copper miner Sandfire Resources rose 1.9 per cent after it booked unaudited sales revenue at $217 million, according to its latest quarterly trading update. The company recorded $84 million in underlying operations earnings before interest tax and amortisation (EBITDA) during the December quarter. Underlying group EBITDA was $134 million in H1 financial year 2024.

$Megaport Ltd (MP1.AU)$: Cloud connectivity provider Megaport surged 19.2 per cent after it said revenue increased 5 per cent to $48.6 million in its latest quarterly trading update. Megaport recorded $15.1 million in earnings before interest tax and amortisation in the second quarter of financial year 2024.

$City Chic Collective Ltd (CCX.AU)$: City Chic jumped over 15 per cent when it confirmed that offshore buyers have been circling the company’s North American business. It comes as The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column revealed that the once-popular women's specialty plus-size fashion retailer fielded several informal approaches for its North American business.

Dividends Paid: $A2B Australia Ltd (A2B.AU)$, $Metcash Ltd (MTS.AU)$