By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The ASX 200 lifted 98.8 points or 1.34% to 7491.4 during Monday’s session, closing at fresh all time high valuations and extending gains of 1.41% in the previous week as buy-now-pay-later stocks surged after news that U.S. fintech firm Square (NYSE:SQ) moved to acquire Afterpay in an A$39 billion deal.
On the coronavirus front, New South Wales reported a near record 207 fresh cases on Monday, with 50 infectious while amongst the community, while Queensland reported 13 fresh cases amid a rapidly growing outbreak as health authorities extended lockdown measures until the end of the week. Meantime, Victoria reported 2 cases, both of which were in quarantine throughout their infectious period.
Among stocks, Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) surged 19.42% and 8.36% respectively, while Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) fell 0.23% and 2.23%, respectively as iron ore prices slumped to 10-week lows after China began steeper cuts to steel output in a bid to reduce emissions.
On the policy front, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision scheduled for tomorrow will be closely watched by market participants. During the last meeting, policymakers outlined a tapering timeline in which bond purchases would be reduced from A$5 billion to A$4 billion per week, however analysts now expect the decision to be reversed in order to combat a steep economic contraction in Q2 due to protracted lockdowns in several Australian states.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 108.45 points or 0.86% to 12702.97.