ASX200 hits new record on mining, energy rally

A sharp rally in iron ore prices pushed to Australian sharemarket to yet another record high on Monday, as investors grow giddy about enhanced growth prospects in China.

The benchmark ASX200 jumped 57.6 points, or 0.7 per cent, to mark a fresh record close of 8269.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index lifted 61.6 points, or 0.73 per cent, to settle at 8538.4.

Tech stocks rose 0.84 per cent to 3473.9.

Eight of 11 industry sectors ended in the green, led by energy and materials, which surged 2.61 per cent and 1.76 per cent, respectively.

Rising tensions in the Middle East have boosted oil prices and Woodside Energy rallied 3.45 per cent to $25.20 a share, while Santos lifted 2.63 per cent to $7.02 and Beach Energy advanced 3.4 per cent to $1.22.

Singapore iron ore futures, meanwhile, soared 9.3 per cent on Monday afternoon to hit $111.65, as fresh stimulus measures and encouraging economic data from China propel expectations of a turnaround in the Middle Kingdom’s ailing property and steelmaking industries.

“I’ve never seen a one-day move of this magnitude,” moomoo market strategist Jessica Amir said

“Anything and everything related to China is rallying”.

BHP surged 2.73 per cent to $45.96, Rio Tinto gained 1.32 per cent to $129.13, Forestuce jumped 2.89 per cent to $20.68 and Mineral Resources advanced 5.9 per cent to $52.04.

“Today we had three gauges out of China showing its economy had grown quicker than expected,” Ms Amir said.

“Three lots of manufacturing indices and all three were better than expected and this is before the rubber hits the road with the stimulus.

“So China’s economy is starting to turn a corner and this is right on the eve of the stimulus making its way into the system.

“It’s exciting because China is doing okay.”

Coal firms also tracked the iron ore giants higher, with Whitehaven Coal rising 1.83 per cent to $7.22, Stanmore Resources climbing 4.23 per cent to $3.20 and Yancoal gaining 3.03 per cent to $6.13.

The big banks were mixed, with Commonwealth Bank lifting 0.92 per cent to $135.39, NAB rising 1.11 per cent to $37.35 and ANZ climbing 0.13 per cent to $30.48, while Westpac declined 0.25 per cent to $31.72.

In corporate news, embattled gaming giant Star Entertainment was the benchmark’s top performer, soaring 18 per cent to 29.5c to partially recover from Friday’s 44 per cent crash.

Star’s stock collapsed after it emerged from an extended trading halt and reported a $1.7bn loss for 2024.

Lithium miner Liontown Resources advanced 2.55 per cent to 80c after reporting its first shipment of spodumene concentrate to China from its Kathleen Valley operation in WA.

“The successful shipment of concentrate from Kathleen Valley is a pivotal moment for the company,” Liontown CEO Tony Ottaviano said.

“Over the past six years, Liontown has focused on developing and constructing a world-class tier-one lithium operation, and now we announce the beginning of generating revenue and cash flow as we see our plans come to fruition.”

The largest laggard on the ASX200 was uranium miner Deep Yellow, which slumped 4.51 per cent to $1.37.

The Aussie dollar gained 0.34 per cent to buy US69.2c at the closing bell.