Afternoon Update: Materials soar, tech slumps

The ASX is currently up 0.39 per cent, with the SPI futures pointing to a rise of 33 points.

The best-performing sector is Materials, up 1.12 per cent, while the worst-performing sector is Information Technology, down 1.3 per cent.

Turning over to company news, Pilbara Minerals is the best-performing large cap, trading 4.29 per cent higher, while WiseTech Global is the worst-performing large cap, trading 2.64 per cent lower.

Gold is currently trading at US$1,782.70 an ounce, and one Australian dollar is buying 66.49 US cents.

In other news, the IPO market may be opening up as Redox debuts on the ASX, with other potential billion-dollar floats in the pipeline.

The Australian residential market is showing early signs of recovery, as building approvals and housing finance approvals have rebounded strongly. However, there is a slight concern as lead jobs indicators have softened, with Australian job ads shrinking.

And the RBA is meeting tomorrow afternoon. The board will likely choose between pausing or hiking interest rates by 25 basis points, following a similar choice in the previous two meetings.

Turning to Asia, their markets rose as manufacturing activity reports showed a slowdown in output. China's Caixin manufacturing PMI for June exceeded expectations. Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea have experienced market gains. However, private surveys indicated a slowdown in factory activity for South Korea and Japan.

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