PointsBet was among the top performers in the ASX 200 benchmark index on Thursday (28 July) after the operator’s share price rocketed by 21%.
At market close, the stock finished trading at A$3.57 per share.
In June, reports emerged that PointsBet had rejected an approach of more than A$220m from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.
Aside from M&A whispers, the most recent share uptick has coincided with an upturn in fortunes for US-listed operators, as most gambling stocks closed higher on Wednesday (27 July).
Caesars’ stock was up 8.9% and DraftKings gained 8.1%, while shares in Rush Street Interactive traded 6.5% higher. The top three performers were followed by MGM (4.94%) and Penn National Gaming (4.75%).
In the US, investors widely welcomed the US central bank’s decision to rise the interest rate by a further 0.75% to a range of 2.25%-2.5%.While this marks the highest level since 2018, markets largely expected the move, which was seen as a signal that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of rate hikes later this year.
Investors had been concerned that aggressive interest rate hikes could tip the US economy into a recession.
The latest increase, aimed at cooling inflation, came on top of a 0.75% hike in June, as well as smaller rises in May and March.
When the closing bell rang on Wednesday, the S&P 500 had climbed 2.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq had surged by 4.1%. This marks the Nasdaq’s biggest rally since November 2020.
Shares in tech giants Microsoft (6.7%) and Alphabet (7.7%) both gained despite reporting quarterly earnings below expectations, as analysts maintained optimistic long-term growth outlooks for both companies.
