By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 lifted 14.70 points or 0.20% to 7,407.40 in Thursday’s morning trade, extending gains of 0.9% in the previous session, tracking fresh record high closes on Wall Street as markets reacted positively to the Federal Reserve’s widely expected tapering decision.
ASX 200 Futures were 14 points or 0.19% lower.
Among gainers, Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) added 3.25%, Janus Henderson Group PLC DRC (ASX:JHG) added 1.86% and and Amcor PLC (ASX:AMC) gained 2.23%. Major mining stocks were mixed as iron ore prices partially recovered overnight, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 0.95%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) up 0.61% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) falling 1.11%. Meantime, Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) lost 16.89% after the company declined to provide guidance due to uneven growth at yesterday’s AGM. Domino’s said same store sales grew 4.3% for the financial year-to-date.
In policy news, the Federal Reserve flagged reductions of its monthly asset purchases later in the month as the country continues its post-pandemic economic recovery. Policymakers noted that inflation is elevated and supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic and the reopening of the economy have contributed to sizable price increases in some sectors and reiterated that they are prepared to adjust the pace of purchases if warranted by changes in the economic outlook.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell just 0.07% to 12984.