At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.38 per cent higher at 7,135.70.
Energy stocks, including Woodside Energy (ASX:WPL) which rallied 2.7%, Santos (ASX:STO) rose 1.2%, Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) jumped 1.1%, and Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR) added 2.5%, delivered strong results oil prices advanced.
Iron ore futures traded higher on the Singapore exchange, with a 2% increase to $US110.30 a tonne on the July contract. This upward trend positively impacted major miners such as BHP Group (ASX:BHP) shares, which rallied 1.7%, Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) increased 2.5%, and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) gained 1.6%.
Gold producers, on the other hand, experienced a decline in performance. Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) shares dropped 7.2%, Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) shed 2.1%, and Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR) lost 3.9%.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 10 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 4.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 22.75 points.
The SPI futures are up 37 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Energy, up 1.96 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Health Care, down 0.64 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL), closing 5.42 per cent higher at $2.92. It was followed by shares in Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG).
The worst-performing large cap was Infratil (ASX:IFT), closing 2.36 per cent lower at $9.09. It was followed by shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has lost 0.79 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0.80 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.55 per cent.
Company news
Heavy Rare Earths (ASX:HRE) announced that their metallurgical program has delivered a two-fold grade increase and up to 91.3% extraction of magnet rare earths. Executive Director, Richard Brescianini, said, “our forward program now has its sights firmly set on producing samples of a Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate, the first possible entry point by HRE into the rare earth supply chain.” Heavy Rare Earths will be presenting at our Hidden Gems Webinar series this Friday at 12:30pm, so tune in to hear an extension on this news and further discussions regarding their operations. Shares closed 10 per cent higher at 11 cents.
NickelSearch (ASX:NIS) has intercepted massive nickel sulphide mineralisation at their Carlingup Nickel Sulphide Project in WA. MD Nicole Duncan, commented: ““The hole confirmed the presence of nickel sulphide mineralisation sitting in a structure located at relatively shallow depths of ~145m and starting quite close to surface at ~40m, which is particularly pleasing.” Shares closed 50 per cent higher at 8.4 cents.
Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) announced thick high grade lithium has been discovered From Near Surface at at its 100% owned Mustang Lithium Project in Nevada, U.S.A. Chairman Troy Flannery commented: “This provides Red Mountain with plenty of confidence going forward as we aim to progress phase 2 drilling targeting the areas further north of our ground, to expand our findings and commence building a lithium resource.” Shares closed flat at 0.5 cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,945.00 an ounce.
Iron ore is 2.1 per cent higher at US$107.60 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.74 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.04 lower at US$74.79 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.15 US cents.
