Australian shares erase gains to trade flat; iron ore miners soar
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Australian shares erased early gains to trade flat at 1:40pm AEST, as miners continued to rally amid broader losses across the market.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 1 point, or 0.01%, to 8,551.8 at 1:40am AEST, having climbed above 8,600 earlier in the session. Seven of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Mining stocks were up 2.6%, with iron ore giants Rio Tinto (4.3%), BHP (3.6%) and Fortescue (3.4%) leading the rally. Iron ore futures in Singapore were up 1.1% per cent to US$94.35 a tonne.
Aluminium producer Alcoa Corporation (7.7%) was the best performing ASX 200 company, followed by copper miner Capstone Copper (7.2%) and lithium business Pilbara Minerals (6.3%).
Champion Iron (5.3%) was also among the best performers after announcing that its Canadian subsidiary priced an upsized debt offering of $764 million. Critical miners miner IGO added 5.1% as it confirmed changes to its board size and structure, including the transition of chair Michael Nossal.
Plumbing supplier Reece Group remained the worst performing ASX 200 stock, extending losses to 15%, after it warned that its FY25 earnings are set to decline compared to FY24.
Australian shares open higher as miners surge; Reece Group sheds 10%
More news: Australian shares rose at the open, tracking strong gains on Wall Street overnight, as mining giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue rallied strongly.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 49.3 points, or 0.58%, to 8,600.1 by 10:30am AEST. Six of the 11 sectoral indices were in the green.
Mining stocks climbed 2.5%, with iron ore majors BHP (3.4%), Rio Tinto (3.3%) and Fortescue (3%) among the best performers.
Aluminium miner Alcoa Corporation (6.9%), copper producer Capstone Copper (6.6%) and lithium trio Pilbara Minerals (6.5%), Liontown Resources (5.7%) and IGO (4.7%) also advanced.
Plumbing supplier Reece Group, down 10.8%, was the worst performing ASX 200 company after it warned that its full-year earnings are set to decline compared to the prior year.
Australian shares to start higher as US indexes push toward record highs
The news: Australian shares are set to rise at the open after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pushed towards record closing highs overnight, buoyed by renewed optimism for further interest rate cuts this year.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 51 points, or 0.58%, to 8,586
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.94%, S&P 500 up 0.80%, and Nasdaq up 0.97%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.01%, DAX up 0.64%, and FTSE 100 up 0.19%
- Spot gold: down 0.13% to USD3,328 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent flat at USD66.68/bbl, and US WTI up 0.46% to USD65.22/bbl
- AUD: up 0.64% to 65.52 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.52% to USD107,249.
The context: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were on the brink of record closing highs overnight, as a slate of new economic data in the US boosted bets for further interest rate cuts this year.
Traders now price in a nearly 25% chance of a Fed rate cut in July, compared to 12.5% a week earlier, according to Reuters.
New data showed that US consumer spending grew in the first quarter at the weakest pace since 2020. First-quarter GDP fell at a downwardly revised 0.5% annualised rate. Recurring applications for unemployment benefits climbed to the highest level since 2021, but initial claims fell.
