Afternoon update: ASX currently trading 0.23% higher as investors await Fed decision

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index briefly exceeded 7,000 points for the first time in over two weeks, with a 0.3 percent gain of 20.1 points, as investors exercised caution in anticipation of the Reserve Bank's cash rate decision on Tuesday. The ASX has since fallen below that figure, currently trading higher by 0.23 percent. Additionally, the All Ordinaries index rose by 0.3 percent

Futures

The SPI futures are up 21 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Health Care, up 1.54 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Energy, down 0.87 per cent.

The best-performing large cap is Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), trading 5.56 per cent higher at $3.705. It is followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE).

The worst-performing large cap is Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), trading 2.5 per cent lower at $5.46. It is followed by shares in Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) and Computershare (ASX:CPU).

Asian markets

Japan's Nikkei has gained 1.10 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 2.52 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.71 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,994.70 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $0.54 higher at US$81.05 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.14 US cents.
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Source: Finance News Network