Australian shares rose on Monday as heavyweight mining stocks hit a record high and the gold sub-index rallied, although gains were capped by escalations in the Ukraine crisis. The S&P/ASX 200 index was up about 0.4% at 7,525 by 0105 GMT.
The benchmark fell 0.1% on Friday. Ukraine on Sunday accused Russia of carrying out a “massacre” in the town of Bucha, and Western nations reacted to images of dead bodies with calls for new sanctions on Russia, which kept a lid on investor mood.
Mining stocks climbed 1.4%. Iron ore futures in China closed at a near 8-month high on Friday as hopes for economic stimulus rose following a month of COVID-19 induced lockdowns.
Global miner BHP Group rose 0.8% and peers Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group added 1.2% and 3.1%, respectively.
Mineral sands explorer Iluka Resources jumped as much as 8.5% after its board approved a rare earths refinery project, and securing government funding for it.
Gold stocks climbed 2.4% and hit a near three-week high. Newcrest Mining, Australia’s largest listed gold miner, rose 1.4%, while Northern Star also climbed 2.9%.
Heavyweight banks were mixed, with the financial index rising 0.1%.
Australia shares inch lower on tech, energy losses
However, two out of so-called “Big Four” banks traded lower.
The mixed mood comes ahead of an interest-rate decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday.
A Reuters poll expects the RBA to hold its official cash rate at 0.1%. National Australia Bank and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group lost 0.4% and 0.04%, respectively, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp rose 0.1% and 0.2%.
Investment manager Pendal Group soared 24.1% on receiving a around A$2.4 billion ($1.80 billion) buyout offer from asset manager Perpetual Ltd.
Markets in New Zealand rose about 0.2% to 12,108.11, as at 0105 GMT.
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