AU Morning Wrap | ASX 200 opens close to record high; IAG climbs after acquisition news

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the broader market declined after a morning surge pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to new highs. The market will not open on Thursday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ fell 0.3%, the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ fell 0.4% and the $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ dropped 0.6%, following earnings reported by $Dell Technologies (DELL.US)$ and $HP Inc (HPQ.US)$ leading their stocks to decline.

The Australian stock market has opened close to the record high reached earlier this week. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ is up 0.31%, at 8432.5, just under 30 points away from its record high of 8462.1 set on Monday. Banks are driving the gains.

As of latest data, $比特币(BTC.CC)$ is priced at $95,969.86, up 4.67% in the past 24 hours, while $以太坊(ETH.CC)$ is priced at $3,672.18, up 10.61% in the past 24 hours.

$Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG.AU)$ gains 8.58% to A$8.49. The company is set to acquire the insurance underwriting division of Queensland's RACQ in a deal worth A$855 million.

$Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (FPH.AU)$ shares are down 4%, now at A$33.175, and it reported rising profits and revenue for the six months ending in September, crediting the increase to the normalization of staffing and capacity in hospitals. Despite a rally ahead of the announcement.

$IGO Ltd (IGO.AU)$, the lithium miners based in Western Australia, has seen a 0.6% increase in shares following the state government's commitment to provide tens of millions of dollars in interest-free loans as part of a new rescue package for supporting the industry amid a global price decline.

$The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR.AU)$, the casino operator in trouble, up 3% to 21.7 cents, will meet with investors at its annual general meeting later today.

$AVJennings Ltd (AVJ.AU)$ surges nearly 90%. Real estate investors Proprium Capital Partners and AVID Property Group have partnered to propose a A$370 million buyout of AVJennings Ltd.

$Dexus (DXS.AU)$ increases following the sale of two office properties for a total of A$443.2 million, expecting to net approximately A$336.3 million from the sales.