The Australian share market bounced back on Thursday, as investors responded positively to overnight gains on Wall Street, despite lingering concerns over United States trade policy.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed higher, recovering from weekly lows, with six of the 11 sectors finishing in positive territory.
Gains were led by Materials underpinned by a 2% rise in iron ore futures. Major miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue rose 2%, 1%, and 1.9%, respectively.
Gold miners also rebounded after a sharp selloff on Wednesday, with spot gold lifting to US$3,330 per ounce. Northern Star Resources gained 1.5%, Evolution Mining jumped 3.6%, Newmont rose 3.2%.
However, copper producers were weighed down by Trump’s tariff move. Sandfire Resources slipped 0.7%, extending Wednesday’s 3.5% fall, while Capstone Copper dipped 1.4%.
Real Estate companies recovered after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s unexpected decision earlier this week to hold interest rates steady. Goodman Group and Mirvac added 0.9% apiece, Charter Hall gained 1.5%, and Scentre Group lifted 1.1%.
Healthcare was mixed. CSL, potentially affected by Trump’s proposed 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals, fell 0.5% following a decline of 0.9% on Wednesday.
Among individual companies, White Cliff Minerals popped 9.5% after announcing the start of diamond drilling at its wholly owned Rae Copper Project in Nunavut, Canada.
On the bond market, yields were steady. The 10-year Australian government bond yield held at 4.293%, while the 2-year yield was unchanged at 3.38%.
