Published on 01/14/2026 at 01:30 am EST
(Updates to close)
* Benchmark closes at 2-month high
* BHP up 1%, Rio Tinto up 0.8%
* Gold miners end at record high
* Energy stocks at one-month peak
* CBA ends at mid-December lows
(Reuters) - Australian shares rose slightly to a two-month closing high on Wednesday, with heavyweight miners and energy stocks rebounding on firmer commodity prices, while a sharp decline in major banks capped the advance.
The S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.14% higher at 8,820.60 points, its strongest closing point since November 10 last year. The mining sub-index jumped 0.9% to its highest closing point, moving in tandem with copper prices scoring a record high. Top miners BHP and Rio Tinto advanced 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
Gold miners also closed at a peak as bullion prices hit a lifetime high.
Local shares of top gold producer Newmont Corp advanced more than 2% to scale a fresh peak, while local producers Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining added 1.4% and 0.7%, respectively.
Financials, however, slipped 0.7%, led lower by all the "Big Four" banks. Top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 1.3% to end at its lowest level since mid-December last year. Other top banks shed between 0.3% and 1.1%.
Banks continue to face selling pressure amid expectations of an increase in key cash rates this year, Craig Sidney, senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners, said. Rich valuations and a realignment of the monetary policy path following sticky inflation have prompted a rotation out of the banking sector in the past few weeks.
"There's certainly a bit of money going into the likes of BHP and Rio Tinto," Sidney said. Swaps indicate a 27% chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise the 3.6% cash rate by a quarter point when it meets on February 3.
Energy stocks added 2.3% with Santos and Woodside Energy climbing nearly 3% each.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended 0.7% higher at 13,757.71 points.
(Reporting by Anjali Singh and Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
Sumber : Reuters
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