Australia’s ASX 200 rose 62 points, or 0.7%, to close at 9,165 on Tuesday, extending gains for a second session to reach its highest level in more than a week. Risk appetite improved on the back of stronger U.S. stock futures after a mixed Wall Street finish on Monday, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged to “sever every economic lifeline” to Iran.
Investors turned their attention to upcoming catalysts, including Fed Chair Warsh’s speech at Jackson Hole, a key U.S. inflation reading, and Nvidia’s earnings. Domestically, the focus shifted to July inflation data after June’s figure eased but remained above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target, with RBA minutes underscoring that demand is still excessively strong.
Gains were broad-based across most sectors, led by technology, manufacturing, consumer-related stocks, and healthcare. Miners supported the index as commodity prices stayed firm, with BHP up 0.8% and Rio Tinto advancing 1.0%. Gold producers also climbed, including Northern Star Resources (0.6%) and Evolution Mining (1.0%). The four major banks added between 0.1% and 0.8%.
On the downside, PLS Group tumbled 6.0%, while energy names Woodside Energy (-1.4%) and Santos (-1.3%) underperformed.
