ASX closes higher as miners track commodity price lift

4:45pm on 7 May 2026

The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as the materials sector surged, tracking a surge in prices across a range of commodities.

The benchmark ASX 200 index rose 0.96% to 8,878.1, with seven of the 11 sectoral indices in positive territory.

Materials (+3.7%) was the best performing sector as BHP (+3.8%), Rio Tinto (+3.2%) and Fortescue (+3.7%) as iron ore prices on the Singapore exchange sat above USD110 ($151.86) per tonne.

Gold miners also tracked the spot price of the haven asset higher with Vault Minerals (+9.2%) and Evolution Minerals (+6.3%) among the biggest gainers on the ASX 200. IperionX (+10.3%) and Capstone Copper (+6.8%) also finished higher.

Biggest movers:

Orica (+7.6%) — Reported an 8% rise in first half underlying net profit after tax to $283 million, driven by strong demand for premium products and advanced technology.
Tabcorp (-23.5%) — Notified that AUSTRAC has launched an enforcement investigation into the company’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing compliance.
Light & Wonder (-8.3%) — Consolidated EBITDA saw a 5% increase to USD327 million but was 3% below the market forecast. Adjusted earnings per share of USD1.45 was also below the USD1.50 consensus.
Viva Energy (-5.1%) — CEO Scott Wyatt sold $615,181.22 worth of shares as the company faces weeks of reduced refining capacity at its Geelong facility after a fire broke out on 15 April.

Other news:

Neuren Pharmaceuticals (+5.9%) — Net sales of its Rett syndrome treatment Daybue rose 20% in the first quarter to USD101 million ($139 million), resulting in royalty income of USD10.4 million for Neuren, up from 23% in the previous corresponding period.
Zip (+4.8%) — Reaffirmed EBITDA guidance of at least $260 million for FY26, supported by continued growth in its US business.
NextDC (+3.9%) — Completed the wholesale offering of $1.7 billion in subordinated hybrid securities, which had received a binding commitment from Canadian investment group La Caisse for the full amount.
NAB (+0.8%) — Named longtime executive Connie Sokaris as its next group chief risk officer.
Humm Group (-1.6%) — Named as one of seven defendants in High Court proceedings brought by its founder and biggest shareholder Andrew Abercrombie. The Takeovers Panel, ASIC, Credit Corp and activist shareholder Jeremy Raper are also among the defendants.

What’s ahead:

The US Department of Labor will release weekly unemployment claims data at 10:30pm AEST.