ASX opens flat as copper and iron ore miners rally
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More news: Australian shares opened flat this morning as large gains in mining and energy stocks offset broad losses across the rest of the market. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.02 points to 8,764.3 at 10:30am AEST.
Miners were the top performers in early trading, adding 1.6% as iron ore giants Rio Tinto (+3.6%) and BHP (+3%) rallied. Capstone Copper (+8.1%) and Sandfire Resources (+8%) both soared as copper prices climbed. South32 (+2.5%) and Lynas Rare Earths (+2.2%) were also among the top performers, as was Nickel Industries (+1.7%), which this morning announced it had completed the issuance of $1.2 billion of debt.
Gold miners made up most of biggest losers, with Ramelius Resources, Bellevue Gold and Westgold Resources all losing 2 to 3%. Uranium miners Deep Yellow (-6.1%), Paladin Energy (-3.4%) and Boss Energy (-1.7%) also sank.
Australian shares to drop as US stocks fall for second straight day
The news: Australian shares are set to open lower after US stocks fell for the second straight session overnight.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 12 points to 8,775
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.37%, S&P 500 down 0.28% and Nasdaq down 0.34%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.57%, DAX up 0.23% and FTSE 100 up 0.29%
- Spot gold: down 0.74% to USD3,736 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.20% at USD68.32/bbl and US WTI up 2.21% to USD64.81/bbl
- AUD: down 0.24% to 65.80 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 1.40% to USD113,629.
The context: Each of Wall Street's three main indices closed lower overnight. Semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology slipped 2.8% despite posting an upbeat forecast. Intel climbed 3.6% after reports claimed the tech giant was seeking an investment from Apple. Larry Ellison's Oracle shed 3.8% on plans to borrow USD15 billion ($22.8 billion) from the US investment-grade bond market.
Investors were also seen to book profits after a string of record-high closes, as US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that asset prices appeared highly valued.
