ASX hits fresh intraday high as miners soar; Hub24, South32 lift on Q1 results
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Australian shares cracked a record intraday high before trimming some gains, as mining stocks surged in response to a new critical minerals deal announced by Australian and US governments.
The benchmark ASX 200 index climbed 0.9% to 9,115 points at around midday, before retreating slightly to 9,090 at 1:25pm AEDT. The previous intraday peak was 9,109.7, set last week.
Mining stocks were up 2%, with critical minerals miners IperionX (+5.6%) and Iluka Resources (+1.9%) rising.
Arafura Rare Earths (+9.4%) and Alcoa Corporation (+7.6%) — both set to benefit from fresh investments under the Australia-US critical minerals deal — were two of the top performers.
ASX opens higher as miners surge on US-Australia critical minerals deal
More news: Australian shares were higher in early trading as mining stocks surged after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump signed a critical minerals deal at the White House overnight.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 55 points, or 0.61%, at 9,086.9 at 10:30am AEDT. Ten of the 11 sectoral indices were in the green as the mining sector jumped 2%.
Aluminium company Alcoa Corporation climbed 8.4%, with the agreement set to inject USD200 million ($307 million) into Alcoa's gallium plant in Western Australia. Gina Rinehart-backed Arafura Rare Earths soared 26%, with the deal set to add a USD100 million to the miner's Nolans Project in the Northern Territory.
Critical minerals miners IperionX (+6.9%) and Iluka Resources (+5.1%), and rare earths producer Lynas (+3.6%), were all among the top performers on the ASX 200. Gold miners also tracked an uptick in benchmark prices overnight, with Evolution Mining (+5%), Regis Resources (+3.2%) and Genesis Minerals (+3%) rallying.
Australian shares to rise as Apple paces Wall Street rally
The news: Australian shares are poised to open higher on Tuesday after US stocks rallied overnight, boosted by positive third-quarter earnings results and hopes for de-escalation in the US-China trade war.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 37 points, or 0.41%, to 9,057
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 1.12%, S&P 500 up 1.08% and Nasdaq up 1.37%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.39%, DAX up 1.80% and FTSE 100 up 0.52%
- Spot gold: up 2.38% to USD4,350 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.50% at USD61.02/bbl and US WTI down 0.19% to USD57.53/bbl
- AUD: up 0.29% to 65.13 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 2.14% to USD110,999.
The context: Each of the main three Wall Street indices climbed sharply overnight. Apple shares jumped 3.9%, striking an all-time high, as Loop Capital upgraded the stock to 'buy'.
Streaming giant Netflix (+3.3%), Facebook parent Meta (+2.1%) and Google owner Alphabet (+1.3%) posted solid gains. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also reached a record.
Investors will turn to high-profile third-quarter results later in the week, including from Tesla, Netflix, IBM, Intel, General Motors and Ford. Around 85% of companies reporting so far have beaten profit forecasts, according to Bloomberg.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump suggested easing tariffs on China if Beijing resumes key agricultural purchases.
In the local market, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Region Group and Cleanaway Waste Management all have their annual general meetings today.
