Day traders' after-market lounge February 15

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

The share market logged its first gain of the week as buyers were encouraged by a Wall Street rebound, tech takeover interest and an increased prospect of rate cuts this year after unemployment hit a two-year high.

The ASX 200 rallied 58 points or 0.77%. The tech sector surged 6.8% to a two-year high after software developer Altium agreed to a $9.1 billion takeover by Japanese chipmaker Renesa. The Australian company's shares jumped 28.76%.

Markets repriced the likely start of this year's rate cutting-cycle from November to September after the jobless rate ticked up to 4.1%, a two-year high. Unemployment ticked up as net employment increased by an anemic 500 jobs last month.

US stocks rebounded overnight as dip buyers took advantage of Tuesday night's bloodbath. Overnight, the S&P 500 bounced 0.96%. US index futures were broadly flat at the Australian market close.