The S&P/ASX200 rose 23.2 points on Thursday, up 0.27 per cent to 8,618.4, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 12.5 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,906.7.
“It looks like we’re on hold a bit, and that makes sense given what’s ahead,” Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy told AAP.
“Of course we expect a drop in US yields and people are prepared for the next big market event, and now we wait and see.”
Conversely, local interest rate markets raised expectations of rate hikes, fully pricing in a 25 basis point increase by November 2026 and chasing interest rate-sensitive sectors.
Mining stocks were by far the best performing segment, up 0.9 percent on record copper prices, while real estate stocks exposed to developers dragged down real estate stocks amid high construction costs and a bleaker outlook for financing costs.
Goodman Group (-2.7 percent), Dexus (-4.0 percent) and Charter Hall (-3.2 percent) performed well in a segment-wide red sea.
Copper producers and copper-exposed stocks were the stars of the day, with Capstone, South32, BHP, Rio Tinto and Sandfire posting five of the top six best performers with rallies of between three and eight percent.
The base metal has soared to record highs on fears that US tariffs will trigger a global supply contraction, catapulting Rio Tinto shares to a new record high above $140 per share.
The only thing that glittered wasn’t gold, as the precious metal retreated from recent highs to buy $4,190 ($A6,337) an ounce, putting pressure on Northern Star, which tumbled more than three percent.
Pantoro Gold took the wooden spoon of the top 200 with a fall of 6.6 percent and has fallen more than 15 percent since major shareholder Tulla Resources sold a large part of its shares earlier this week. Incidentally, the slump demoted the miner from the ASX200.
Rare earth and lithium producers also sold off as investors rebalanced their commodity allocations in favor of copper activities, leaving Liontown (-6.0 percent), Pilbara Minerals (-4.1 percent) and Lynas Rare Earths (-4.2 percent).
Energy stocks rose 0.6 percent, in line with gains for Woodside and Santos, as oil prices rose after Ukrainian attacks on Russian crude infrastructure and stalled peace talks between the warring countries.
Coal producers traded higher, while uranium stocks experienced some profit-taking after a somewhat rocky rise since the same time last week.
Consumer staples were under selling pressure, down 0.9 percent, with Coles and Treasury Wines each down more than 1.7 percent, while durables were 0.2 percent lower.
According to company news, Vulcan Energy shares fell by more than a third after a capital increase of 398 million euros, which resulted in the issuance of around 178 million additional shares.
The Australian dollar is trading at a four-week high of 66.11 US cents, down from 65.83 at 5pm on Wednesday. The Aussie was supported by shifting expectations about the Reserve Bank’s path ahead, which NAB economists confirmed appeared to be narrowing.
“We continue to forecast the RBA in H1 26 for now, but this forecast will be revised if there are indications of a tighter labor market, more sustained price pressures or further acceleration in domestic economic activity in coming months,” NAB group chief economist Sally Auld wrote in a report.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 rose 23.2 points, or 0.27 percent, to 8,618.4
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 12.5 points, or 0.14 percent, to 8,906.7
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
*66.11 U.S. cents, from 65.83 U.S. cents at 5 p.m. Wednesday
* 102.61 Japanese yen, from 102.49 Japanese yen
* 56.71 euro cents, from 56.54 euro cents
*49.58 British pence, from 49.73 British pence
*114.56 NZ cents, from 114.39 NZ cents
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