Bourse edges higher to book four day winning streak as miners rally

Buoyed by a rally in material stocks on Wednesday, the Australian share market edged higher to finish in the green.

The Australian share market edged higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in the materials sector to notch its fourth straight day of gains.

At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX200 index had added just 0.1 per cent, or 4.3 points, to 7,519.2, while the broader All Ordinaries added a similar amount to 7,748.1.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar sank, shedding 0.1 per cent to US65.71c against the greenback.

Even as the sharemarket was largely unchanged, the benchmark has booked its longest winning streak of the year.

“If you look over five days, all sectors during the green,” Gemma Dale, director of investor behaviour at NAB Trade.

The top performing sector was materials, adding 1.3 per cent on Wednesday. Picture: Supplied.

The materials sector – the largest sector on the index – added 1.3 per cent, to be the top performer.

The S&P500 rose to fresh record on Wall Street overnight, rising 0.3 per cent to 4,864.60, on traders’ hopes of an easing of interest rates. The tech heavy Nasdaq added 0.4 per cent however the Dow Jones sank 0.3 per cent.

Locally, iron ore miners rose, following reports of a fresh round of stimulus from Beijing on Tuesday. ASX heavyweight BHP added 1.2 per cent to $46.86, Fortescue climbed 1.2 per cent to $28.39, and Rio Tinto climbed 1 per cent to $129.02.

Elsewhere in the sector, lithium miners vaulted after a recent collapse in lithium prices. Sayona Mining added 10 per cent to 4c and Liontown Resources rose 3.3 per cent to 94c. After unveiling plans to slash costs, Pilbara Minerals jumped 5.8 per cent to $3.46.

But Ms Dale noted that despite the rally in lithium stocks, they were still in a weaker position.

“While there was a bounce in the lithium space … all stocks are sitting close to their 52-week lows,” she added.

Tech stocks were the biggest laggard, shedding 1.2 per cent. Xero slipped 0.9 per cent to $113.00, Wisetech slumped 2 per cent to $74.90, and Altium eased 1.2 per cent to $48.28.

Woodside shares edged lower even as it unveiled record production volumes last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sharon Smith

In corporate news, a mooted merger between BWP Trust, which owns a number of Bunnings Warehouse businesses, and Newmark Property REIT sent the latter soaring. Newmark shares soared 36.6 per cent to $1.33, while BWP sank 2 per cent to $3.40.

Woodside shares shed 0.4 per cent to $30.97 as its guidance failed to impress analysts. The fall came despite announcing record annual production in 2023.

Nanosonics dived 33.4 per cent to $2.91, its worst day ever, after the infection prevention company provided a disappointing trading update, and pared back profit expectations.

Online retailer Kogan soared 15 per cent after gross profits for the six months to December beat expectations, with gross margins also eclipsing consensus forecasts. Shares soared 14.9 per cent to $5.02.

Originally published as Bourse edges higher to book four day winning streak as miners rally