AU Morning Wrap: ASX Lifts as Miners Rally; BHP Climbs, Star Halts Trading

The market cooled Friday from the week's all-time highs and short squeeze surprises.Just after the close at 4 PM EST, the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ climbed 0.12%, The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ ell 0.07%, and the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ climbed 0.34%.

The $U.S. 2-Year Treasury Notes Yield (US2Y.BD)$ climbed to 4.82, the $U.S. 10-Year Treasury Notes Yield (US10Y.BD)$ was 4.42.

The Australian sharemarket has approached its record high level, riding on the back of mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ is up 38 points or 0.5% at 7,852.5, just 44 points away from the record closing level of 7,896.4 points set on March 28.

The materials sector is currently the top performer, rising 1.7%, with $BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AU)$ and $Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AU)$ leading the charge, up over 1.5% each. The boost comes after China announced further stimulus measures last week to support its struggling property sector.

Australian nickel miners are also experiencing gains after the metal's price rose by 7% over the weekend due to riots in New Caledonia, a crucial global supply region. $South32 Ltd (S32.AU)$ is up 1.6% at $3.82, while Nickel Industries has jumped 3.1% to $1.05.

The $AUD/USD (AUDUSD.FX)$ is trading at US66.997¢, an increase of 0.09%.

As of latest data, $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ is priced at $66,233, down 1.06% in the past 24 hours, while $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ is priced at $3,067, down 1.81% in the past 24 hours.

Agribusiness group $Elders Ltd (ELD.AU)$ has reduced its first-half dividend by 22% after its profits for the same period fell by 76%, amounting to $11.6 million.

The Florida entertainment giant, Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos, is reportedly considering taking control of $The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR.AU)$. The proposal involves injecting more capital into the struggling gaming group.

Intelligence software company $Nuix Ltd (NXL.AU)$ has reported a positive six-month performance, which sets the company up to exceed its revenue growth targets.

$Core Lithium Ltd (CXO.AU)$ has named Paul Brown, former $Mineral Resources Ltd (MIN.AU)$ executive and current Hastings Technology Metals CEO, as the lithium developer's next chief executive.

$Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (PBH.AU)$ has revised its expected earnings guidance for FY24, now projecting a loss of $4 million to $6 million, an improvement from the previous guidance of a loss ranging from $9 million to $14 million.