The mining and resource sector is holding up the local bourse, keeping it on track for its third straight session of very modest gains.
At midday on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 9.9 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 8,767.6, while the broader All Ordinaries had grown 10.3 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 8,960.1.
Investors were focused on a three-day summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington due to kick off overnight, Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said.
Trade policy was at the forefront of market participants’ minds given the trade war between the two countries, with hopes that deals were on the table, he added.
There was also the chance that the US could extract support from China to use its leverage over Iran to make a peace deal, with talks on the evolving arms race between the two superpowers over artificial intelligence also a possibility.
At midday the ASX’s mining sector was up 1.7 per cent, one of just four sectors in the green.
Goldminers were shining as the precious metal changed hands at $US4,382 an ounce, up slightly from Tuesday.
Evolution gained 2.8 per cent, Northern Star added 4.1 per cent and Newmont climbed 3.7 per cent.
Minerals 260 also jumped 8.4 per cent to a three-month high of 97 cents, a week after the company’s $250 million equity raising to fund a new goldmine west of Kalgoorlie in WA.
The iron ore giants were also performing strongly, with BHP advancing 1.3 per cent and Rio Tinto and Fortescue both rising 0.8 per cent.
Elsewhere in the materials sector, lithium miner PLS Group added 2.5 per cent, rare earth miner Lynas gained 1.2 per cent, and building products company James Hardie rose 2.8 per cent.
In the banking sector, all of the big four banks were in the red.
CBA dropped 1.0 per cent, ANZ slipped 0.9 per cent, Westpac fell 0.7 per cent and NAB edged 0.1 per cent lower.
Insurance companies were doing worse, with both IAG and Suncorp falling 1.9 per cent.
The energy sector dropped 1.4 per cent as Brent crude fell to a two-week low of $US98.77 a barrel following reports that Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifted its military blockade.
Woodside slipped 1.9 per cent, while Santos and coal miner New Hope both lost 1.5 per cent.
Elsewhere, REA Group fell 4.1 per cent as the realestate.com.au owner announced it appointed former AMP Bank executive Sally Bruce as a non-executive director.
In the industrial sector, Qantas climbed 2.2 per cent after the airline said tickets for its new Sydney-New York nonstop flights would go on sale in August 2027, ahead of their launch date in mid-2028.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Myer gained 5.7 per cent despite posting a $276.5 million loss for 2025/26.
In currencies, the Australian dollar was changing hands for 71.05 US cents, unchanged from 5pm on Tuesday.
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