ASX gains as iron ore miners rally
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as materials rallied amid a lift in iron ore prices.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX200 ended up 0.45% to 7,824.2, with seven out of 11 sectors finishing in green.
The best performing sector was materials, up 1.48%, followed by utilities (0.99%) and consumer discretionary (0.67%). Throughout the trading day, iron ore miners led the market after Singapore iron ore futures rose 6.15% to $US104.4 ($158.07) a tonne on Monday — the highest level in two weeks. BHP (1.83%), Rio Tinto (3.16%) and Fortescue (1.93%) all finished higher. Lithium miners also enjoyed gains with Liontown rallying 8.82%, as did Mineral Resources (1.11%), Pilbara Minerals (1.84%) and IGO (3.83%).
Elders was one of the best performing stocks across the ASX 200, up 8.48%, clawing back Monday’s loss of 24.21%. The company’s shares bounced back after analysts noted that while its first half trading expectations were below expectations due to El Niño, its risks had now passed.
Ansell also rallied, up 6.66%, after it announced the completion of its $400 million placement to fund its acquisition of Kimberly-Clark’s personal protective equipment business.
Elsewhere, Qantas shares finished 2.11% higher on the back of its expanded loyalty program and analysts reaffirming their ‘buy’ ratings on the stock.
The worst performing sector was AREITs, down 0.97%, followed by healthcare (0.64%) and telecommunication services (0.22%). Most of the large real estate stocks finished lower including Goodman Group (-1.4%), Scentre Group (-0.9%) and Stockland (-0.85%).
Following Monday's announcement that it would acquire Challenger Bank, Heartland Group shares sank 6.25% after it completed the institutional component of its capital raise.
Meanwhile, Flight Centre shares fell 1.8% after Goldman Sach analysts downgraded the company to a ‘sell’ rating.
The Australian dollar is higher buying US66.04 cents.
The context: The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the latest building activity report on Wednesday while Jim Chalmers will give the ACCC annual Bannerman lecture with an anticipated merger reform announcement.
Offshore, the latest US CPI figures will be released on Wednesday evening.
