Australian shares rise as BHP hits record high on profit, dividend beat

Australian shares rose on Tuesday, led by BHP, after shares of the world’s largest-listed miner touched a record high following better-than-expected first-half results.

The S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.4% to 8,972.1 by 2350 GMT.

The benchmark rose 0.2% on Monday.

BHP shares rose as much as 7.2% to a record high, among the top benchmark gainers.

The mining giant reported a stronger-than-expected half-year underlying profit driven by copper, and declared a dividend of 73 cents per share, 10 cents above market expectations.

BHP helped the mining sub-index gain 2.3%, which fell in the previous two sessions. Index heavyweights Rio Tinto and Fortescue rose 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

Meanwhile, shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 0.4% after briefly hitting its highest level since mid-August 2025.

Investment management firm Challenger pared losses following a 4.8% drop after its first-half normalised net profit after tax missed expectations, analysts at Citi said.

The financials sub-index however, was flat, with CBA’s losses offset by gains from the remaining ‘big four’ lenders, while Judo Capital surged 5.7% on posting a strong full-year profit.

Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board meeting showed that the central bank concluded inflation would stay stubbornly high if it had not hiked interest rates as it did this month, though further tightening remains uncertain.

Reliance Worldwide slid as much as 10.1% to its lowest level since early November 2023, after the plumbing firm reported a near 35% drop in half-year net profit after tax, while job listings site SEEK surged 1.1% on stronger first-half revenue.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 0.1% to 13,045.18.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will hold its policy meeting on Wednesday, when it is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged.