FX.co ★ Australian Shares Climb on Mining Boost

On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index experienced an uptick of 0.5%, surpassing the 7,950 mark, building upon the upward trajectory established in the previous session. This rise was largely attributed to the robust performance of mining stocks, driven by a surge in metals prices. Australian market movements mirrored gains on Wall Street, spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump's softened stance on China tariffs and a more tempered critique of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fueled optimism by indicating the potential for a significant trade agreement between the U.S. and China. Contributing to the positive outlook, China expressed readiness to resume trade negotiations, conditional on the cessation of threats from Washington. Leading the market's advance was the mining sector, with particularly strong performances from BHP Group (+0.9%), Fortescue Metals (+1.6%), Northern Star Resources (+0.7%), Evolution Mining (+0.5%), and Paladin Energy (+4.3%).