PEAK ASSET: ARVO WRAP 9 JANUARY: ASX rebounds on tech rally, strong retail sales | Alumina leaps 7pc | Galan Lithium nears completion of key construction milestones |

A warm sunny day in Melbourne today for a change.

This must be what summer feels like!

Across Markets…

Australian shares rallied 1.2 per cent by mid-day, bolstered by a strong session on Wall Street and the strongest monthly retail sales report in three years.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 jumped 90.4 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 7541.9 with tech leading gains, following a more than 2 per cent gain in the Nasdaq as Nvidia paced the Magnificent Seven higher. The All Ordinaries rose 1.1 per cent.

Zip leapt 5.7 per cent, while Block and Megaport rose 4 per cent each.

The major banks advanced as much as 1.3 per cent. Among the big miners, BHP gained 0.8 per cent, Rio Tinto edged up 0.3 per cent and Fortescue rallied 1.4 per cent. Lithium and gold explorers were also in demand with Core Lithium up 2.6 per cent and West African Resources 2.2 per cent higher.

Energy was the only sector down, albeit only slightly, after oil prices slumped on Monday. Santos and Woodside were both 0.4 per cent lower. Karoon Energy was the second-biggest laggard on the index, down 1.5 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is looking for evidence of a slowdown in the economy to help bring inflation back to target. Last month it kept the cash rate on hold at 4.35 per cent and may look through the distorted retail sales result.

Another data surprise came from building approvals which jumped 1.6 per cent in November, against expectations of a 2 per cent drop and following a 7.2 per cent gain in October.

The $A edged up 0.1 per cent to US67.24¢, the third consecutive session of subdued activity. It topped a five-month peak of US68.71¢ late last month.

Source: AFR