The Australian sharemarket closed in on its record high, tracking a rally on Wall Street, as mining stocks climbed after upbeat Chinese data pointed to a recovery in the construction sector.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rallied 50.6 points, 0.6 per cent, to 8589.2 on Thursday – just shy of its record close of 8603 set last week – with seven out of 11 sectors finishing in the green, as retail, property, industrial and bank stocks also advanced.

Wall Street climbed overnight, shrugging off the latest US tariff news that included US President Donald Trump slapping Brazil with a 50 per cent levy, amid hopes of a US rate cut after minutes from the Federal Reserve showed most policymakers judged a rate cut would be appropriate this year, with a couple favouring one as soon as this month.

That led to a pile back into the sharemarket, helping Nvidia’s market value to briefly climb above $US4 trillion for the first time. Cryptocurrencies also caught the tailwind, with bitcoin surging past $US112,000 to a record high.

On the ASX, the big miners climbed as iron ore futures rose 2 per cent, boosted by data from the China Construction Machinery Association that showed domestic excavator sales – which usually ramp up as builders prepare for projects – were up nearly 23 per cent from a year earlier during the January-June period.

“[It’s] buoyed hopes that stimulus measures and easing trade risks with the US will boost China-facing stocks by the end of the year,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.

BHP rose 1.2 per cent to $38.30 on the news, with Rio Tinto up 1 per cent to $108.62, and Fortescue climbing 1.9 per cent to $16.51.

Gold miners bounced back from Wednesday’s sharp sell-off as the precious metal rose to $US3330 an ounce, up $US30 from a day earlier. Evolution was up 3.6 per cent to $7.55. Newmont and Perseus rose 3.2 per cent to $90.29 and $3.56 respectively.

Copper stocks remained under pressure after Trump confirmed his 50 per cent copper tariffs would become effective from August 1. Sandfire Resources came off 0.7 per cent to $11.10, Capstone Copper dropped 1.4 per cent to $9.15 and Aeris Resources fell 2.6 per cent to 19¢.

Elsewhere, investors returned to the real estate sector, after the Reserve Bank unexpectedly held interest rates on Tuesday. Charter Hall rose 1.5 per cent to $19.40 and GPT 1.4 per cent to $5.08.

The banks rallied too, following a recent dip, with Commonwealth Bank and ANZ edging up 0.8 per cent to $180.37 and $30.29 respectively, National Australia Bank up 1.2 per cent to $39.74, and Westpac up 0.5 per cent to $33.87.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, Telix Pharmaceuticals came off 3.6 per cent to $24.47, paring strong gains made on Wednesday, after Morningstar said that while it was “enviably” exempt from any potential tariffs laid on the sector by Trump, it remained “overvalued”.

Jewellery chain Lovisa jumped 5.1 per cent to $33.06, helped along by Morgan Stanley’s raising of its target price from $31.50 to $35.

Imricor Medical Systems dropped 15.1 per cent to $1.32 after the cardiac catheter company indicated regulatory approval for one of its products in the US had fallen behind schedule.

And Platinum Asset Management leapt 13.1 per cent to 56¢ after UBS retained its “neutral” rating on the stock but increased its 12-month price target from 47¢ to 53¢. Morningstar also said its merger with L1 could “inject new life” into the stock.

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