In a welcome turnaround, Australian shares climbed higher on Thursday, putting an end to three consecutive sessions of decline. The market witnessed broad-based buying activity, with the heavyweight mining and financial sectors acting as the primary engines for the rally.
Market Performance and Key Drivers
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index advanced by 0.7% to reach 8,509.80, as of 2321 GMT. Despite this positive movement, the index remains down by nearly 7% since it hit a record high back on October 21. This gain comes after the benchmark fell 0.3% on Wednesday, closing at a five-month low.
Sectoral Deep Dive: Winners and Losers
The resources sector was a major contributor to the day's gains. Miners rose nearly 1%, moving in sync with solid increases in iron ore and copper prices. Industry giants BHP and Rio Tinto saw their shares increase by 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.
Gold miners also joined the upward trend, climbing 1.1% on the back of higher bullion prices. Key players in the index, Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining, advanced by 0.5% and 1.5%.
A significant surge was seen among local lithium miners. This rebound was fueled by renewed demand for the battery metal, sparked by optimistic quarterly results from Chilean mining company SQM. Pilbara Minerals and IGO led the charge, surging 3.5% and 4.2%, respectively.
On the financial front, banks rose 0.5%, with the nation's top lender, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, edging 0.5% higher. However, the banking sub-index is still facing headwinds, down nearly 8% for the month and potentially marking its weakest performance since June 2022, as investors grapple with margin pressures and intense competition.
Tech and Other Sectors Shine
The technology sector was a standout performer, soaring 4.1% and heading for its best trading day since mid-April. This rally was inspired by Wall Street, after AI leader Nvidia projected quarterly revenue that surpassed market expectations. This provided temporary relief to investors worried that the AI boom had detached from its fundamentals. WiseTech Global rose 3.3% and Xero advanced 3.2%.
Other sectors also contributed to the positive sentiment. Healthcare stocks gained 1%, while the consumer discretionary sub-index moved up 0.9%.
Bucking the overall positive trend was the energy sector, which slipped 0.3% as oil prices softened. This was triggered by a renewed U.S. effort to end the war in Ukraine, which alleviated some supply concerns. Woodside Energy fell 0.7% and Santos dropped 0.9%.
Neighbouring Market Movement
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's market also experienced modest gains. The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index inched 0.3% higher to 13,360.84.
