ASX standouts: Wednesday’s big movers and gainers

The ASX is up 0.95% amid a broad-based rally. 

All 11 sectors are trading higher, with the exception of consumer staples. 

The S&P/ASX energy and technology sectors are clear standouts, up 2.2% and 2.5% respectively, thanks to a jump in oil prices and rebound in US tech stocks overnight. 

ASX winners 

Afterpay (ASX: APT) is pulling the tech sector higher, up 5.9%. Afterpay announced that Block has received approval from the Bank of Spain, paving the way for Block’s acquisition.

According to the implementation timetable, Afterpay’s last trading day will be on 19 January. 

Other tech heavyweights including WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC), Xero (ASX: XRO) and Altium (ASX: ALU) are all up more than 1.5%. 

Oil prices rallied more than 3% overnight, reclaiming the US$80/b level. This is driving gains across the local energy sector with Santos (ASX: STO) up 2.5% and Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL) gaining 3.2%.

It’s game on for nickel stocks after the Bloomberg Nickel Subindex broke out to all-time highs overnight. Leading the charge are small-mid cap names like Poseidon Nickel (ASX: POS), Nickel Mines (ASX: NIC) and Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX), all up at least 5%. 

ASX losers 

Woolworths (ASX: WOW) and Coles (ASX: COL) shares continue to falter, down less than -1%. 

On Tuesday,  the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released November 2021 retail trade figures, flagging a -2.5% decline in food retailing.

This is despite overall retail turnover jumping 7.3% month-on-month.

The news drove Woolworths and Coles shares around -2% lower on the day.