Aussie shares lift on iron ore rally
The benchmark ASX200 jumped 50.6 points, or 0.59 per cent, to close at 8589.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index lifted 48.8 points or 0.56 per cent, to finish at 8826.7.
The heavyweight materials sector led the charge, gaining 1.24 per cent.
Singapore iron ore futures advanced 3 per cent to $US98.95 a tonne in afternoon trade on the back of Wednesday's better-than-expected consumer inflation data out of China.
'This snapped a run of four months of consumer deflation and buoyed hopes that stimulus measures and easing trade risks with the US will boost China-facing stocks by the end of the year,' IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
BHP gained 1.19 per cent to $38.30 a share, Rio Tinto climbed nearly 1 per cent to $108.62, Fortescue rose 1.91 per cent to $16.51 and Mineral Resources added 3.66 per cent to $25.51.
Gold miners advanced as the precious metal hit US$3330 an ounce.
Evolution Mining jumped 3.57 per cent to $7.55 while Newmont rose 3.24 per cent to $90.29. The Australian sharemarket lifted across trading day on Thursday. NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers Credit: News Corp Australia
Financials also lifted, with Commonwealth Bank advancing 0.82 per cent to $180.37, Westpac edging up 0.5 per cent to $33.87, NAB climbing 1.12 per cent to $39.74 and ANZ gaining 0.77 per cent to $30.29.
Seven of 11 industry sectors ended in the green, though the healthcare sector continued to sell off, losing another 0.54 per cent following US President Donald Trump's threat this week to impose a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceutical imports.
CSL retreated 0.53 per cent to $242.41 while Ramsay Healthcare tumbled 3.09 per cent to $37.92.
The market briefly broke through the 8600 barrier in intraday trading, reaching a high mark of 8610 points just before 1pm.
The bourse's gains followed a strong lead from Wall St overnight on Wednesday as confidence grew about a possible rate cut from the US Federal Reserve later in the year.
The Dow Jones added 217 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 44,458, while the S&P500 rose 0.61 per cent to 6263.26 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index surged 0.94 per cent to 20,611. Big miners like Rio Tinto lifted on Thursday on the back of a surge in iron ore futures. Jason Edwards / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
'The central bank kept interest rates steady at 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent, signalling confidence in the economy, even as inflation, while easing, remains stubbornly above its 2 per cent target,' Moomoo market strategist Jessica Amir said.
'The labour market continues to impress, with low unemployment and steady job gains providing a sturdy backbone for growth.
'Yet central bank officials are treading carefully. Global uncertainties, shifting trade dynamics and geopolitical tensions remain firmly on its radar.
'While some officials see room for possible rate cuts later this year if inflation cools further, the consensus is clear: no rushing into decisions.'
In corporate news, medical devices company Imricor Medical Systems slumped 15.1 per cent to $1.32 after updating investors on its regulatory approvals progress in the US.
The top gainer on the ASX200 was Lifestyle Communities, which surged 9.2 per cent to $4.83.
The biggest loser was Domino's Pizza, slumping 4 per cent to $18.03.
The Aussie dollar gained 0.28 per cent to buy US65.5c at the closing bell.
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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Aussie jobs on agenda for PM's China trip
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing to meet with China's leaders over a six-day trip, which he says he'll use to boost economic ties and build job opportunities for Australia.
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
PM's China trip key despite chasmic differences on defence: expert
Anthony Albanese will land in Shanghai on Saturday, kicking off a six-day state visit to China amid severe regional uncertainty. The Chinese government has done its utmost to frame the visit positively, with Xi Jinping's envoy in Canberra spruiking it as an opportunity to take the two-way economic relationship to new highs. Ambassador Xiao Qian even teased the Albanese government with artificial intelligence – a temptation the Prime Minister has neither embraced nor rejected. Against a backdrop of China's rapid military build-up and increasing aggression in the Indo Pacific, Mr Albanese faces far harder conversations than televised tarmac niceties with grinning officials. Chasmic differences loom large on defence, global trade, human rights and the region. But Australia-China Relations Institute director James Laurenceson told NewsWire that was all the more reason to talk. 'Even if we don't like everything that China is doing in the strategic and security space, they are Asia's leading strategic power,' Mr Laurenceson said. 'So if you look around the region, there is no country that wants to talk less with China because it's a reality that even if you've got geopolitical or other conflicts with China, you've got to be able to manage those issues.' Defence is the elephant in the room. In the last year, China has test-fired a nuclear-capable missile, harassed an Australian surveillance jet in international airspace and carried out live fire drills off Australia's coast while circumnavigating the country with warships. All the while, China's estimated nuclear arsenal has nearly tripled since 2020, which Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said last month was driving 'security anxiety' in Canberra. Australia has committed tens of billions in extra military spending over the next decade amid defence assessments warning a conflict in the region could break out by 2034. The US has put it at 2027. Much of the defence funds are earmarked for long-term projects, such as AUKUS, which critics argue have come at the cost of Australia's immediate war-readiness. Pointing to Washington's mixed signals on AUKUS, Mr Laurenceson said it was important to keep comms 'open' with Beijing. 'Lurking in the background is the fact that you've got the US as a less reliable strategic partner,' he said. 'That provides some incentive to at least keep that dialogue in the strategic space open.' He said he expected Mr Albanese would navigate defence as 'he's been doing since he came to government'. 'He'll say that AUKUS is not up for negotiation,' Mr Laurenceson said. 'The fact that Beijing doesn't want us to pursue it … they're entitled to press that case, and they will, they have done and they'll continue to do it. 'But that's not something that Canberra needs to weigh too heavily. 'Canberra's job is to make decisions that it thinks are in Australia's national interest. 'I'm very confident that despite all Beijing's grumblings around AUKUS, they're not going to blow up the bilateral relationship more broadly because of it.' Trade: a lifeline Where Australia and China have the most common ground is trade. While Donald Trump seeks to pump the breaks on Australian goods entering the US, the Chinese President asks for more. The Albanese government has convinced Mr Xi to remove $20bn in trade barriers, letting Australian barley, lobsters and wine flow freely into China once again. 'The Chinese market is bigger than our next four largest markets combined,' Mr Laurenceson said. 'Some of those other four biggest markets are actually closing up. 'Ideally, we'd like to diversify trade away from China but in fact, the US, which is currently our third largest market, is actually making it harder for Australia to export its stuff there. 'So, China wants stuff, and trade is flowing freely between Australia and China right now.' While China has been keen to embrace Australian products, which often attract a premium price tag, Beijing has made clear it will not play fair in all sectors. China is the world's leading producer of critical minerals – precious materials vital to everything from cars to phones. Australia's fledgling rare earth industry is the biggest challenge to China's dominance in the space. So seriously is the threat being taken that Australia's leading mining firm, Lynas Rare Earths, has been hit by a relentless cyber campaign stoking fear around its projects in Australia and abroad. Mr Laurenceson said it was good that Mr Albanese 'is wanting to position Australia as a an alternative for other countries in critical minerals supply chains'. 'That makes perfect sense,' he said. 'We don't want to be in a world where we're locked in to highly concentrated sources of supply.' The EU has signalled it would like more Australian critical minerals to cut back its reliance on China. The Albanese government has also leaned heavily on critical minerals in tariff negotiations with the US. But as Mr Laurenceson pointed out, the biggest market for rare earths is China. 'To give you one example, 98 per cent of Australia's lithium goes to China,' he said. 'Now, why is that? Is that because we love them? No, it's because they're the ones who want to buy it. 'America is at least 10 years behind China's capabilities in the energy transition space, so we'd love to sell more lithium to America, but they just don't want it because they haven't got the industries there.' He added that the US was also 'busy building out its own domestic supply chains of lithium'. 'So Australia still has to engage with that economic reality,' Mr Laurenceson said. Balancing act Other sore points Mr Albanese will need to navigate are China's human rights abuses in its province of Xinjiang and Labor's election commitment to scrap Port of Darwin's 99-year lease to a Chinese company. Australia has criticised China for torturing and enslaving Uighurs in Xinjiang and called on Beijing to implement all recommendations made in a United Nations report on the abuses. The Chinese government has in turn accused Australia of 'hypocrisy', saying the Australian Defence Force has committed 'abhorrent crimes'. On the Port of Darwin, the Albanese government has not ruled out forcing China's Landbridge Holdings to sell it back to an Australian firm. The deal was greenlit by the Turnbull-Coalition government a decade ago. Beijing has indicated it would bring up the touchy topic when Mr Albanese visits. Despite the points of friction, Mr Laurenceson said Mr Albanese's approach was 'working. 'I think he's doing exceptionally well,' he said. He described both Canberra and Beijing as being 'pragmatic and clear eyed' about the relationship. 'Neither side is willing to let the differences define the relationship, but neither side is kidding themselves that the other is geopolitically aligned,' Mr Laurenceson said. 'And frankly, that's not bad. 'I think that would serve Australia's national interests if that approach we take to China was wheeled out more generally.'
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Employers urged to double down on workplace diversity
Australian workplaces are being urged to double down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs rather than follow the United States in dismantling them. Known colloquially as DEI, these initiatives are designed to create a fair and inclusive workplace with diverse people, where the playing field is levelled and all feel welcome. Since his most recent election as United States president, Donald Trump has wound back government DEI programs with many private sector companies following suit. But the former head of the Australian Retailers Association, Paul Zahra, wants Australian businesses to take a different path. Recently appointed patron of Pride in Diversity, an organisation that supports employers in all aspects of LGBTQ workplace inclusion, Mr Zahra said the need for diverse visibility had never been greater. When appointed chief executive of David Jones in 2010, he was the only openly gay leader in the ASX 200. During his time at the retailers association, Mr Zahra then championed DEI by signing retailers up to gender and LGBTQI equity statements and advocating for First Nations peoples. "I bring lived experience and I understand the complexities," he told AAP. "For LGBTQI people there is still a social taboo and it's not always socially acceptable." But rather than going down a rabbit hole of winding programs back, diversity, equity and inclusion should represent an opportunity for employers. "People need to see it as an economic imperative and what is happening in the US means Australia can position itself advantageously," Mr Zahra said. "While Washington rolls back DEI initiatives ... Australia has a unique chance to position itself as a global leader in inclusive business practices and reap the substantial economic benefits that come with it." The White House has defended its shutting down of DEI programs within government, calling the framework a form of discrimination and says its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces. But Mr Zahra, who led the retailers association through the COVID-19 pandemic which was one of the toughest periods in retail history, said he had seen time and again how diverse leadership teams outperformed homogeneous ones. "As this continues in the US, more of the talent will be forced out and Australia has a real opportunity to capture that talent," he said. "When your competitors abandon proven business practices, Australia can capture the talent that values inclusion." Recent Diversity Council Australia research shows some progress has been made in Australian workplaces towards diversity and inclusion but opposition to these efforts has doubled to seven per cent since 2017. Despite having more ways of reaching colleagues than ever, the Inclusion at Work Index found workers report feeling less connected and able to contribute to their teams. Australian workplaces are being urged to double down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs rather than follow the United States in dismantling them. Known colloquially as DEI, these initiatives are designed to create a fair and inclusive workplace with diverse people, where the playing field is levelled and all feel welcome. Since his most recent election as United States president, Donald Trump has wound back government DEI programs with many private sector companies following suit. But the former head of the Australian Retailers Association, Paul Zahra, wants Australian businesses to take a different path. Recently appointed patron of Pride in Diversity, an organisation that supports employers in all aspects of LGBTQ workplace inclusion, Mr Zahra said the need for diverse visibility had never been greater. When appointed chief executive of David Jones in 2010, he was the only openly gay leader in the ASX 200. During his time at the retailers association, Mr Zahra then championed DEI by signing retailers up to gender and LGBTQI equity statements and advocating for First Nations peoples. "I bring lived experience and I understand the complexities," he told AAP. "For LGBTQI people there is still a social taboo and it's not always socially acceptable." But rather than going down a rabbit hole of winding programs back, diversity, equity and inclusion should represent an opportunity for employers. "People need to see it as an economic imperative and what is happening in the US means Australia can position itself advantageously," Mr Zahra said. "While Washington rolls back DEI initiatives ... Australia has a unique chance to position itself as a global leader in inclusive business practices and reap the substantial economic benefits that come with it." The White House has defended its shutting down of DEI programs within government, calling the framework a form of discrimination and says its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces. But Mr Zahra, who led the retailers association through the COVID-19 pandemic which was one of the toughest periods in retail history, said he had seen time and again how diverse leadership teams outperformed homogeneous ones. "As this continues in the US, more of the talent will be forced out and Australia has a real opportunity to capture that talent," he said. "When your competitors abandon proven business practices, Australia can capture the talent that values inclusion." Recent Diversity Council Australia research shows some progress has been made in Australian workplaces towards diversity and inclusion but opposition to these efforts has doubled to seven per cent since 2017. Despite having more ways of reaching colleagues than ever, the Inclusion at Work Index found workers report feeling less connected and able to contribute to their teams. Australian workplaces are being urged to double down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs rather than follow the United States in dismantling them. Known colloquially as DEI, these initiatives are designed to create a fair and inclusive workplace with diverse people, where the playing field is levelled and all feel welcome. Since his most recent election as United States president, Donald Trump has wound back government DEI programs with many private sector companies following suit. But the former head of the Australian Retailers Association, Paul Zahra, wants Australian businesses to take a different path. Recently appointed patron of Pride in Diversity, an organisation that supports employers in all aspects of LGBTQ workplace inclusion, Mr Zahra said the need for diverse visibility had never been greater. When appointed chief executive of David Jones in 2010, he was the only openly gay leader in the ASX 200. During his time at the retailers association, Mr Zahra then championed DEI by signing retailers up to gender and LGBTQI equity statements and advocating for First Nations peoples. "I bring lived experience and I understand the complexities," he told AAP. "For LGBTQI people there is still a social taboo and it's not always socially acceptable." But rather than going down a rabbit hole of winding programs back, diversity, equity and inclusion should represent an opportunity for employers. "People need to see it as an economic imperative and what is happening in the US means Australia can position itself advantageously," Mr Zahra said. "While Washington rolls back DEI initiatives ... Australia has a unique chance to position itself as a global leader in inclusive business practices and reap the substantial economic benefits that come with it." The White House has defended its shutting down of DEI programs within government, calling the framework a form of discrimination and says its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces. But Mr Zahra, who led the retailers association through the COVID-19 pandemic which was one of the toughest periods in retail history, said he had seen time and again how diverse leadership teams outperformed homogeneous ones. "As this continues in the US, more of the talent will be forced out and Australia has a real opportunity to capture that talent," he said. "When your competitors abandon proven business practices, Australia can capture the talent that values inclusion." Recent Diversity Council Australia research shows some progress has been made in Australian workplaces towards diversity and inclusion but opposition to these efforts has doubled to seven per cent since 2017. Despite having more ways of reaching colleagues than ever, the Inclusion at Work Index found workers report feeling less connected and able to contribute to their teams. Australian workplaces are being urged to double down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs rather than follow the United States in dismantling them. Known colloquially as DEI, these initiatives are designed to create a fair and inclusive workplace with diverse people, where the playing field is levelled and all feel welcome. Since his most recent election as United States president, Donald Trump has wound back government DEI programs with many private sector companies following suit. But the former head of the Australian Retailers Association, Paul Zahra, wants Australian businesses to take a different path. Recently appointed patron of Pride in Diversity, an organisation that supports employers in all aspects of LGBTQ workplace inclusion, Mr Zahra said the need for diverse visibility had never been greater. When appointed chief executive of David Jones in 2010, he was the only openly gay leader in the ASX 200. During his time at the retailers association, Mr Zahra then championed DEI by signing retailers up to gender and LGBTQI equity statements and advocating for First Nations peoples. "I bring lived experience and I understand the complexities," he told AAP. "For LGBTQI people there is still a social taboo and it's not always socially acceptable." But rather than going down a rabbit hole of winding programs back, diversity, equity and inclusion should represent an opportunity for employers. "People need to see it as an economic imperative and what is happening in the US means Australia can position itself advantageously," Mr Zahra said. "While Washington rolls back DEI initiatives ... Australia has a unique chance to position itself as a global leader in inclusive business practices and reap the substantial economic benefits that come with it." The White House has defended its shutting down of DEI programs within government, calling the framework a form of discrimination and says its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces. But Mr Zahra, who led the retailers association through the COVID-19 pandemic which was one of the toughest periods in retail history, said he had seen time and again how diverse leadership teams outperformed homogeneous ones. "As this continues in the US, more of the talent will be forced out and Australia has a real opportunity to capture that talent," he said. "When your competitors abandon proven business practices, Australia can capture the talent that values inclusion." Recent Diversity Council Australia research shows some progress has been made in Australian workplaces towards diversity and inclusion but opposition to these efforts has doubled to seven per cent since 2017. Despite having more ways of reaching colleagues than ever, the Inclusion at Work Index found workers report feeling less connected and able to contribute to their teams.
