Market Wrap / tech at the top

The S&P/ASX200 finished the session 0.29% higher to 8,720.80 points, supported by the tech sector, while the miners were hit by some profit-taking. 

Increased geopolitical tensions were not enough to extend the gains seen in gold. Northern Star Resources shed 3%. Meanwhile, energy players Santos and Woodside advanced as the US seized two oil ships in the Atlantic. 

BlueScope Steel fell 1.6% as its board rejected the $13 billion takeover bid from Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group Holdings and US firm Steel Dynamics.

In the C-Suite, Neil Salmon stepped down from Ansell after 13 years with the company. Investors reacted negatively to the news and sent the stock 6.2% lower. 

Elsewhere, Monadelphous signed new construction and maintenance contracts with Rio Tinto, Santos and BW Offshore. This followed a BHP contract signed earlier in the week, with the share price rising a further 2.2%

Overall, the tech sector truly pushed market gains. In the US, investors jumped back into AI stocks, while locally, Zip and Block led the gains. 

Tonight, the Challenger job cuts numbers are due out of the US, ahead of the much-anticipated nonfarm payrolls on Friday.