By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added 39.80 points or 0.54% to 7,344.50 after the first hour of Thursday’s trade, as market participants tracked a strong session on Wall Street overnight after Federal Reserve officials increased the cash rate by 50 basis points and forecasted a plan to eventually cut its bond holdings by US$95 billion a month.
ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.1% lower.
Among stocks, Information Technology led the gains, up 2.1% as Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) lifted 1.9%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) gained 5.5%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) added 4.3% and Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) gained 3.2%.
Energy lifted 1.4% as Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) gained 1.8%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) lifted 1.5% and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) added 2.7%.
Materials were up 1.2%, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) adding 0.6%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) up 0.7%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) gaining 2.1% and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) lifting 5.7%.
Financials retreated 1.3% amid easing Treasury yields, with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) down 0.4%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) falling 1.5% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) dipping 0.7%.
Meantime, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) fell 2% after reporting rising cash earnings and a higher dividend for shareholders.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were at 3.397% while United States 10-Year rates were at 2.946%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.4% to 11,722.