SYDNEY, AAP – The local bourse is enjoying gains across the board at midday, continuing its bounce-back from a brutal three-day stretch that began a week ago.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 55.7 points to 7,412.6 at noon, a gain of 0.76 per cent. The broader All Ordinaries index was up 63.4 to 7,705.8, a 0.83 per cent rise.
The ASX is tracking for its best two-day stretch since early February, following a 4.4 per cent decline over the three days that began last Friday. It’s made up a little less than half of those losses.
Tech stocks were leading the market on Friday, with the sector lifting 2.2 per cent as Computershare added 2.9 per cent and Wisetech Global advanced 2.4 per cent.
Nitro Software soared 23.3 to a three-week high of $1.405 after the digital document company announced cash receipts in the first quarter jumped 42 per cent to $US17 million, on the back of several key customer wins.
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Kogan.com sunk 11.5 per cent to $4.02 after announcing gross sales were down 3.8 per cent in the March quarter compared to a year ago.
Chief executive Ruslan Kogan said “market conditions are challenging at present” and the online retailer would focus on recalibrating inventory levels.
ResMed dropped 5.3 per cent to $28.77 after the respiratory care device manufacturer announced that higher freight and manufacturing costs had reduced its profit margin in the March quarter.
Firefinch added 15 per cent to $1.11 after detailing its plans to spin off its Mali lithium mine into a separate company, Leo Lithium. The demerger will leave Firefinch with its Morila gold mine, also in Mali.
Starpharma gained 6.3 per cent to 85 cents after announcing its cash balance increased $3.6 million in the March quarter as it prepares to relaunch its antiviral nasal spray in the United Kingdom.
