ASX 200 rose 72 points to 7122 (+1.0%), hitting three-week highs during trade, piggybacking off the tech rally on Wall Street overnight. Tech stocks led the market today, NXT up 1.8%, MP1 +4.3%, WBT +7.2%, and SQ2 +2.4%. All-Tech Index up 1.5%. Most sectors were positive. REITS only negative sector, down 0.2%. Financials regained their footing, with big banks clawing back yesterday’s losses CBA +1.5%, NAB +2.3%, ANZ +0.9%, and WBC +1.5%. The Big Bank Basket rose to $169.98 (+1.5%). Base Metals and Resources in demand, BHP +2.4%, FMG +2.1%, and RIO up 1.8%. Lithium stocks solid, PMT up 1.7% on strong lithium drilling results. Telecoms better, led by Telstra (TSL), hitting $4.24 today its highest level since July 2017 before closing down 0.2%. Elsewhere, GMG was down 0.5%, WES off 0.5%, and CHC fell 0.9% as capital flowed to resources and tech stocks. On the corporate front, ZIP up 3.7% on news it plans to sell its Middle East operations, and it signed deals to sell its European business Twisto and Payflex in South Africa. In economic news, job vacancies in February fell 1% from November, showing signs the labour market is tightening, but demand for labour remains high. Employers across Australia in all industries reported Job vacancies in February are nearly double what they were three years ago before the start of the pandemic. Asian markets down, Japan plunged 1.0%, HK down 0.7%, and China off 0.2%. 10-year yields at 3.34%. Dow Jones futures up 2 points. NASDAQ futures down 8 points.

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