ASX rises; BHP jumps 2pc amid mining rotation
The Australian sharemarket opened higher on Thursday as investors continued to rotate into mining stocks, with precious metals furthering gains against a backdrop of geopolitical and supply uncertainty.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index was up by 46.7 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8867.30 at 10.11am AEDT, with seven of the 11 sectors stronger.
Materials were the strongest as BHP rallied more than 2 per cent and South32 3 per cent, with copper remaining around record highs to reflect the scarcity in metals markets. Rio Tinto firmed 1.4 per cent and gold giant Northern Star 1.4 per cent.
Energy contributed to gains as Woodside lifted 0.7 per cent and Santos 0.8 per cent as oil prices rose overnight to the highest since October before retreating slightly amid public protests in Iran.
The major banks were mixed following losses on Wednesday as Commonwealth Bank fell 0.4 per cent but National Australia Bank added 0.2 per cent, Westpac 0.3 per cent and ANZ 0.4 per cent.
Stocks in focus
Eureka Group was flat after it executed contracts to acquire Nagambie Lifestyle Park, a mixed-use residential community about 140 kilometres north of Melbourne, for $11 million.
Carma fell 0.5 per cent as it delivered 244 retail units in December, lifting quarterly deliveries to 746 – an 18 per cent increase from the 633 units in the three months to September and 29 per cent higher than the same period a year earlier.
DroneShield retreated 1.5 per cent as it failed to continue its strong start to the year after JPMorgan Chase & Co became a significant shareholder, growing its stake to 5.19 per cent.
4DMedical had yet to resume trading after it secured $150 million in an institutional placement at $3.80 per share, supported by new global long-only investors and strong demand from existing shareholders.
