ASX up 0.88% near noon: Wall Street records big gains

Australian shares opened strongly, rising 1.1% to surpass 7900 points, nearing a record high set in April. The rally, fueled by gains in Wall Street's tech giants, saw local sectors like technology and real estate advance. Concurrently, gold miners benefited from a rise in gold prices to $2372 per ounce, while Newmont shares climbed 3.3% to $67.50. However, iron ore prices declined amid subdued demand from steel mills and developers in China, exemplified by losses reported by major firms like Angang Steel and China Vanke.

At 11:35am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.88 per cent higher at 7,885.40.

The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 66 points.