By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 was higher in Thursday’s mid-morning deals, adding 26.90 points or 0.37% to 7,295.20 and extending gains of 1.13% in the previous session as market participants tracked a positive lead from Wall Street overnight, with technology companies continuing to rebound ahead of a key U.S. inflation report due later in the session.
ASX 200 Futures were up 0.13%.
Among stocks, Technology companies outperformed, lifting over 3% collectively. Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) added 1.62%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) surged 8.52%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) gained 2.2%, Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) lifted 6.36%, Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) gained 3.58%, Computershare Ltd. (ASX:CPU) added 3.34%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) added 3.58% and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) gained 1.03%.
Meantime, Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) popped 9.64% and Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) lifted 1.94%.
Financials were also 0.17% higher overall. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) rose 3.73% after reporting a 9.1% rise in first-quarter cash profit thanks to growth in home and business lending. Chief executive Ross McEwan said while disruptions to supply chains and labour markets from the Omicron COVID-19 variant had created uncertainty, the bank was optimistic about the outlook for Australia and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, AMP Ltd (ASX:AMP) added 4.46% after releasing its company results.
The Materials sector was 0.92% higher, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) up 1.95%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) adding 0.27%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) climbing 4.48%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) up 0.71%, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) gaining 3.31% and Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) adding 5.26%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were steady at 35-month highs of 2.109% while United States 10-Year rates were at 25-month highs of 1.937%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.47% to 12,492.