ASX volatile after Wall Street rebound

THE Australian sharemarket managed to close slightly higher in a volatile trading session, with a surprisingly positive lead from Wall Street behind the recovery.

The ASX 200 slumped 3 per cent on Thursday as Russia began invading Ukraine.

The benchmark index rose 0.1 per cent or 7.2 points to close at 6997.8 points on Friday.

The All Ordinaries index rose 0.28 per cent or 20.5c to close at 7273.6 points.

Ord Minnett said the lift in US stocks erased most of the previous session’s losses, as investors found refuge in largecap American technology shares, while a decline in oil prices eased concern that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would result in an immediate worsening of the inflation picture.

The S&P 500 index in the US rallied 1.5 per cent overnight on Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average index was up 0.28 per cent and the Nasdaq surged 3.3 per cent.

On the ASX, shares in Block (the owner of Afterpay) were the best performer, surging 32.5 per cent to $153.75 on the back of a positive profit report.

Energy stocks were mixed as the oil price punched through $US100 a barrel.