The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) Index rose 8.3 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,712.5 on Tuesday, after erasing almost $50 billion in value on Monday in a session of profit-taking that was led by the banks. The broader All Ordinaries (INDEXASX: XAO) rose 9.4 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,973.
Six of the ASX’s 11 sectors advanced, as losses in energy offset gains in technology stocks.
The bulk miners were again affected by a sliding iron ore price, with the May futures contract falling 3.4 per cent on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange. That sent the mining heavyweights to 2024 lows, with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) falling 30 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to a nine-month low of $42.52; Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) dropping 30 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $24.75; and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) retreating 24 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $115.35, the lowest since October last year.
BHP share price
In energy, Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) slid 34 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $29.10; and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) eased 4 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $7.11.
Some of the gold stocks surged back, after a down day on Monday. Southern Cross Gold Ltd (ASX: SXG) jumped 34.5 cents, or 20.2 per cent, to $2.05 after announcing plans to list on a Canadian stock exchange; Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) jumped 15 cents, or 10.3 per cent, to $1.605, after announcing that production continues to ramp-up at its namesake gold project in Western Australia; Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) gained 7 cents, or 4.7 per cent, to $1.57; Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) advanced $1.77, or 3.5 per cent, to $52.89; De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG) was up 4 cents, or 3.2 per cent, to $1.305; Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) put on 10 cents, or 2 per cent, to $5.10; and Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) strengthened 3.5 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $2.03.
Lithium was also a strong sector. Producer Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) gained 17 cents, or 4.3 per cent, to $4.17; fellow producer Arcadium Lithium CDI (ASX: LTM) added 15 cents, or 2.1 per cent, to $7.41; project hopeful Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) advanced 5.5 cents, or 4.4 per cent, to $1.315; IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO), which produces lithium and nickel, put on 17 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $7.73; and Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN), which mines iron ore as well as lithium, rose 83 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $66.31.
Elsewhere in metals, Alumina Ltd (ASX: AWC) jumped 9.5 cents, or 8.1 per cent, to $1.27, after signing-off on a binding $3.3 billion deal under which its US joint venture partner Alcoa Corp (NYSE: AA) will buy it out. Copper miner Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) appreciated 20 cents, or 2.6 per cent, to $7.80; Indonesia-based nickel producer Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC) firmed 3 cents, or 3.8 per cent, to 82.5 cents; mineral sands producer Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) picked up 17 cents, or 2.5 per cent, to $6.88; and rare earths producer Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) put on 5 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $5.85.
Appen back from the almost-dead
In the tech sector, Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) shares were put in a trading halt after they soared 25 cents, or 29.5 per cent, to a six-month high of $1.075 – up from 27 cents in February, when it seemed that the company was headed for delisting. Appen requested the trading halt to reply to an ASX price query, without disclosing further details.
Appen share price
In healthcare, Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB) lifted 7.5 cents, or 23.4 per cent, to 40 cents, on the back of Monday’s announcement of an accelerated pathway to US approval of its potential heart failure treatment.
The big banks were mixed, with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) rising 19 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $27.01; ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) gaining 6 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $29.30; National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) softening 15 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $33.88; and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) posting a 39-cent loss, or 0.3 per cent, to $117.74.
Biotech heavyweight CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) advanced 67 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $281.87. Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) walked back 2 cents, to $3.79.
Nvidia sparks Wall Street
In the US, stocks surged after the US inflation data came in in-line with expectations, clearing the way for investors to resume buying high-flying tech stocks such as NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META).
NVIDIA share price
The broad S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) index gained 57.33 points, or 1.1 per cent, which was enough for a record close, surpassing the previous record high close from March 7.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) advanced 235.83 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 39,005.49, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) Index firmed 246.36 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 16,265.64.
The Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) was powered by a 7 per cent-plus spike in chipmaker Nvidia, while Oracle Corp (NYSE: ORCL) jumped more than 11 per cent after beating Wall Street earnings estimates, Meta gained 3.3 per cent and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) added 2.6 per cent.
On the bond market, the US 10-year yield firmed very slightly, to 4.168 per cent, while the 2-year yield advanced 3.4 basis points, to 4.595 per cent.
Gold retreated US$25.43, or 1.2 per cent, to US$2,158.31 an ounce. The global benchmark Brent crude oil grade rose 14 US cents, or 0.2 per cent, to US$82.35 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate oil slipped 37 US cents, or 0.5 per cent, to US$77.56 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying 66.04 US cents this morning, down from 66.13 cents at the ASX close on Tuesday.
