Shares' best day in weeks as gold, tech stocks rally
Australian shares have gained with select mining, financial and energy stocks advancing. -AAP Image
Australia's share market has notched its best daily performance in three weeks amid hopes a US funding deal could end a government shutdown that has lasted 40 days.
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The S&P/ASX200 rose 64.2 points on Monday, up 0.73 per cent, to 8,833.9, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 76 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 9,107.7.
Hopes of the US government reopening - which would restore pay to 800,000 federal workers, boost confidence and resume publication of crucial economic data - lit a match under technology stocks.
The surge extended to energy and materials stocks with a focus on commodities linked to tech and artificial intelligence infrastructure: rare earths, critical minerals and uranium.
Gold also rallied on hopes of further US interest rate cuts, which boost the precious metal's attractiveness relative to interest-earning assets.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.24 US cents, up from 64.80 US cents on Friday at 5pm, on the back of a relatively hawkish speech from a Reserve Bank official, optimism for the potential US reopening and Goldman Sachs' upgraded growth outlook for China.
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